


Toymaker Madness

by EricaX



Series: Heroes and Villains [3]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Flashbacks, M/M, Original Characters - Freeform, Self-Harm, Toys, Violence, Whiffle Boy, mentions of mental issues, slight madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-04 06:51:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EricaX/pseuds/EricaX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After watching a new Whiffle Boy commercial which makes fun of his toys, Quackerjack finally slips further into insanity and madness. Will Megavolt be able to help him before it's too late? Quackerjack/Megavolt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Author's Note: This fic is more a stand-alone than anything else, but follows after the events of Electrifying Memories. This is pretty much my take on Quackerjack's past. Lots of flashbacks and such. Also, Derek belongs to me, everyone else....not mine. 

\-----------------------------

The light in the large domain wasn't very bright. There was just enough light in there for someone to see what they were doing, but not quite enough. This was actually how the occupant of the room preferred it though. Over the years his eyes had grown used to dim litted areas. He loved light and wished for it to be on, bright and shining all of the time, however, while he was working hard, sweating away, he figured he may as well let the poor 64 watt light bulbs save their energy until the fateful day when all his luminaries would be liberated.

A young, thin rodent stared intently at his work in front of him, his gloved fingers working their way around each light bulb which he was currently setting up around the large mirror in front of him. He leaned back into the white chair he was sitting in, seething at the light bulb before him. It refused to go into the light socket properly. No matter which way he turned it or how many times he tried, it wouldn't work. He even tried switching the light bulb with another one, seeing if the reluctant light bulb would go somewhere else. It wouldn't. And it frustrated him to no end.

"Why....won't...you…. go in!?" hissed Megavolt, trying to control his furious anger. He knew his luminaries got scared of his temper.

He brought the light bulb up to his face and examined it carefully. "What's wrong with you?" he inquired a moment later. He placed the light bulb up to his ear, waiting for an answer. None was given. "Oh! Now you're not talking to me, eh? First, you refuse to go into the perfect little socket I have for you and now you won't even tell me what's wrong!?"

A moment passed where Megavolt just stared unblinkingly at the light bulb. He then tried once more to place the light bulb into the socket. He turned it this way and that, and he was scarcely aware of the fact that he was holding his breath. The light bulb slid into the socket as he continued to turn it. The light bulb fit into the socket perfectly.

Megavolt gave a cry of success and happiness as he saw that it was inside the socket. "Excellent! Now all the light bulbs are where they are supposed to be!!" He stood slightly from his chair and reached his long thin arm over to a switch on the side of the mirror. Suddenly the room was lit up by all the light bulbs that now surrounded the mirror.

The mirror looked exactly like the kind that would be find behind the set of a Broadway show, where the actors and actresses put their make-up and wigs on, making sure everything was perfect.

"Quacky will be thrill---" his words were cut off with a note of disbelief. He looked down at the bottom of the mirror to see that the same light bulb which refused to be placed into the socket was not lit up. Megavolt's jaw dropped open. "Now what's wrong with you!?" he shrieked with fury. He eyed the defiant light bulb, leaning up closed to it, not caring if the other light bulbs were blinding his side vision. He reached up and turned off all the lights. Now all that was on where the dim lights in the background once again.

Megavolt was about to open his mouth to say something when he heard the large metallic doors to his right creak open and slam shut. He glanced over at the doors briefly, then back at the deviant light bulb. "Fine, be that way. But you're the one who has to tell Quacky! He was looking forward to seeing this mirror work!!" He glared at the light bulb with his arms crossed a moment later and when he didn't receive an answer he scoffed and walked away, heading towards the metal doors.

Megavolt's mood quickly changed from frustrated to excited as he walked closer to Quackerjack, who had just walked through the metallic doors to his hideout. There was a large bag over his left shoulder. Megavolt was about to greet him, but stopped, seeing the expression on his face. He stopped walking, watching Quackerjack with wide eyes as the duck walked past him, the jester's crazed eyes focused on the floor.

Megavolt began mumbling about what he was seeing, not believing any of it even though he was saying it in his own, nasal voice. "He walked in.....instead of skipped....He didn't scream "hello" to me....He said nothing. He isn't babbling about his day......He's not talking, period. Mr. Banana Brain is no where in sight. Everyone panic.....He has a sad frown on his face.....Dear Lord…..." Megavolt immediately sprung into action, forcing his stunned body to run up to his partner in crime.

"Quacky! What's wrong!?" he demanded tenderly, getting into step with Quackerjack beside him.

Quackerjack turned his gaze from the floor and up to Megavolt, who's eyes where filled with concern behind his large purple goggles. He returned his gaze to the floor and continued walking further into the hideout, ignoring the pleas from Megavolt to tell him what was wrong.

"Please, Quacky, tell me what's wrong?" insisted Megavolt, leaning forward a bit as he walked so he could see the jester's face.

"Bad day…." were the two pathetic little words the jester finally managed to say, sounding like the most depressed duck in the world.

"I can tell" sniffed Megavolt, trying not to seem rude, but that much was obvious. Just by looking at Quackerjack you could tell it hadn't been his day.

"Darkwing ruined my day…." pouted the jester at last.

Megavolt blinked at what he just heard. Then, without wanting to, he blurted out,

"Drake got in your way again, huh?" He winced, knowing what was coming next.

Quackerjack growled in frustration has be balled his free hand into a fist and shut his eyes tightly. "If you don't stop calling him Drake, I'll announce to every villain alive who he really is!!"

Megavolt frowned, tensing a bit. It had become a habit for him to refer Darkwing as Drake, who Megavolt, or should he say, Elmo, knew him better as. It had been two weeks since Megavolt got his memory back and was now back to being Megavolt again.

Quackerjack was beyond thrilled to watch as each day went by that his partner became less and less like Elmo and more like Megavolt. His fried memory made the process all the easier.

But it was true, Quackerjack was very aware of who Darkwing's secret identity, and had it not been for Megavolt's constant insistence that the jester tell no one, Quackerjack would have gone and done it by now. But Quackerjack cared for his Megsy too much not to do as he wished.

"Quacky….Cheer up, I hate seeing you like this. It just isn't….you"

Quackerjack couldn't help but grin at that. He knew his Megsy was only trying to cheer him up and what was he doing? Yelling at him. Without warning the jester dropped the bag he was carrying and wrapped his right arm around Megavolt's shoulders, pulling him in closer.

Megavolt took this as a good sign. Quackerjack was feeling better already.

"So, what has my electrically charged friend been doing while I was gone?" asked Quackerjack jovially, his previous depression quickly vanishing.

Megavolt looked over and glared at the mirror that he had been working on before Quackerjack had entered the lair. "Been trying to finish your mirror, you know, the one with all the enslaved light bulbs?" This was said with terribly hidden anger.

Quackerjack's once sober eyes from his depression quickly livened back to their crazed appearance. "Ooooh, right! And how did it come out?"

Megavolt grabbed the jester's hand without a word, dragging him over to the mirror. He flipped the switch and on came all the lights save for the one that had been giving the electric rodent trouble earlier.

Quackerjack looked at the mirror, grinning, then innocently looked back at Megavolt, pointing to the unlit light bulb. "This one isn't lit…"

Megavolt grumbled. "I know it isn't! And he refuses to tell me what is wrong!!"

Quackerjack giggled. "It's okay, I guess." He wrapped his arms around Megavolt, suddenly behind him. "I noticed, all your light bulbs these days are guys….." He tickled Megavolt under the chin, making the rodent squirm. "Am I going to be replaced by a light bulb?"

Megavolt turned red and turned himself around, the jester's arms still around him. "No! You'd never be replaced."

Quackerjack seemed satisfied with that answer and turned to leave.

"Quacky…..What is it we're doing tonight, again?" asked Megavolt, scratching the back of his head.

Quackerjack frowned, unable to think of anything that they were doing. He looked back at his friend. "I don't know what you're talking about Megsy. We have no plans for tonight.."

Megavolt blinked, very confused. The rodent could have sworn that there was something going on tonight. "Then what am I thinking of?"

Quackerjack, who at this point was clear on the other side of the lair, chuckled, his wide grin on his beak. He moved aside several of his newest toys and placed what was in his bag on the table. "I have no idea what goes on in that frazzled mind of yours, Sparky" he giggled. He then yelped when a shot of electricity hit him straight in the back. "Youch!"

"Don't call me Sparky!!!!" he shouted in fury, glaring at the jester in front of his as he walked closer.

"Oh, pardon me…" mocked the jester with a shrug, giggling insanely.

\-------

11 years ago…..

The sound of a bell ringing caught all the hard working students off guard since they had been working extra hard in trying to get their projects finished. The room didn't have very many students in it, let alone much at all. There were a few empty desks, which were long and could hold three students.

It was a sewing class. The projects that everyone was working on were stuffed animals of some kind. Some seemed a little more advanced than a stuffed animal and looked like an actual moving toy.

In the middle of the classroom, two boys were still trying their hardest to get their work done, despite the fact that class was already over. The teacher in front of the class didn't seem at all fazed that the two boys were still working while everyone else was leaving.

One of the boys had short red hair with long bangs coming down into his face. He was a duck, with a large beak and a wide grin. His eyes were a startling green. The boy beside him had very little hair, but what he had was blonde. He too was a duck and slightly shorter than his friend. They were both of the same build.

"Michael, how did you do that?" asked the blonde duck. He pointed to some of the stitching on his friend's stuffed dog. "How did make the sewing so even? I can't do that?"

Michael, the duck with red hair, grinned. "Simple. You have to overlap them, so that when you take the needle back through, no matter how uneven it is, it covers it up. See?" And he showed his friend how he was doing it by demonstrating.

"You make it look so easy!" grumbled his friend.

Michael laughed. "That's cause it is easy, Derek, you're just not trying hard enough!" There was another chortle of laughter from him. Derek just glared at his friend.

Michael grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the extra thread that he didn't need. He then started cleaning up his work area. "Come on, we'd better get going. Gotta go to work in a hour."

The two of them started to putting everything away and said goodbye to the teacher. Once they were out in the hallway, their hands filled with their project supplies, they began talking.

"What should we do before work?" asked Derek, nearly dropping his box of thread.

Michael shrugged, not really caring or paying attention. "I don't know. I just know I hate school." "College, you mean…" corrected Derek.

"College IS school!" growled Michael. They reached the school doors, going through them and being blinded by the bright light. They both had to wince since it was so bright outside.

"Oh, great! Now I'm blind!!' whined Michael in a high voice.

Derek blinked a whole bunch of times, trying to get used to the light. "I know, let's go to get some ice cream" offered Derek. "You know how hyper ice cream makes us. It'll truly piss off Mr. Henderson!" chuckled the duck.

Michael grinned, his eyes finally used to the light as he glanced over at his closest friend. They both had mischievous grins on their beaks.

\----

"I'll have a Banana milkshake" Derek told the cashier on the other side of the counter.

Michael leaned over towards Derek's ear. "You always get banana" he pointed out. He was on his tip toes since he was behind his friend as they waited. They were in the town's ice cream parlor, with the tiled floors black and white checkered and a wooden horse sitting beside the entrance. The decorations were done so that it looked like a circus.

Derek sighed after he finished paying and turned to Michael, who was sipping at his chocolate milkshake innocently. "I always get banana because banana is my favorite. Besides, you're one to talk, you always get chocolate!"

Michael stopped sipping for a moment, "Unless when I want vanilla."

Derek shook his head, taking his shake that the worker behind the counter offered him. The two friends went back out to the car they had driven in. It was Derek's, only because Michael had lost his license card somewhere in his room and would be driving illegally without it.

"Do you really think you'll be able to get that job, Mike? I mean, if you can get that job, you're life will be set!" Derek spoke up, sitting on the hood of his car. Michael nodded, his big buck teeth showing. He pushed the long strands of hair out of his face.

"I think I can" he mumbled, playing with the large sleeve of his colorful shirt.

"You'd be working at a toy factory. It would be like a dream come true for you!" continued Derek, knowing his friend's love for toys. Michael continued to stare out in front of him, nodding as his friend spoke. He sipped some more of his milkshake. "Hopefully I'll be able to get a job there as well. But its hard to say. I doubt they'll hire us both, seeing as how they're so tight with workers."

Michael grinned like a fool. "No matter what though, I'll always make my toys!!" He then threw his head back and laughed.

\------

Present

Quackerjack sighed as he glanced down at all his demented toys. He knew they hadn't always been demented. But thinking of times like that made his head hurt. He frowned. Time to change his focus.

He glanced over at Megavolt, who was back struggling with the reluctant light bulb that refused to work for him. He bounced his way over to the rodent, scaring him.

Megavolt flinched as his friend came over to him. "Megsy…I'm booored" drawled the clown in a whiny voice. Megavolt gulped. He knew what that meant. "Oooh, come on Megsy! let's do something fun!! Let's go paint the town RED!!" He bounced at the thought.

Megavolt gave him a wry smile, the light bulb in his hand. "Red? Why red?"

"Cause I like red!! That's why!' retorted Quackerjack, sounding insulted.

Megavolt hissed at the light bulb and dropped it on the table, finally fed up. Out of irritation, he clicked his fingers, only to be stunned when Quackerjack's half broken television set turned on.

Megavolt, his eyes wide, looked at it. "Cool!!"

Quackerjack walked up to the television, watching the commercial that was on it. It was a candy commercial. It then changed to a different commercial, one that made Quackerjack's blood boil.

"Come and help Whiffle Boy destroy the bad guys!" said the unseen announcer as the screen showed the Whiffle Boy toy being handled by a kid playing with the figurine, knocking down the little toy bad guys. It then changed to the video game itself. "Blast through each level with new excitement!! Forget those old dangerous Quackerjack toys and get your hands on the new hot-selling Whiffle Boy action figure and video game!!! In stores now!!"

Quackerjack balled his hands into fists. Megavolt blinked at the commercial he had just seen, it taking a moment for its relevance to Quackerjack to sink in. When it finally did, Megavolt's arms were suddenly around Quackerjack, knowing the jester was pissed.

"Just calm down, Quacky!! don't listen to them!" he insisted nervously.

"Old toys!? …dangerous toys!?" he seethed with fury, still staring at the TV, which was now on a different commercial. "My toys are not dangerous!! Just highly misunderstood!!!"

"I know that! I love your toys!" cried Megavolt, hoping that by restraining his friend, less would get damaged.

This didn't seem to help Quackerjack's mood in the least. "Well of course you do!!!" He untangled himself easily from Megavolt's weak grip and turned on his friend. "You're as insane as I am, maybe even more!! So of course you'd like my toys!!"

Megavolt couldn't help but agree with that as he writhed his hands together. Quackerjack's anger soon melted into a depression. "I remember when my toys were the biggest hit ever. I remember when kids would come to my factory and want my toys…" He sniffed, moving close to Megavolt and giving him a hug, which surprised the rodent, but he accepted it nonetheless. "They never used to be hated. They were once popular." His voice changed as he frowned, getting angry. "Until Whiffle Boy came along." He spat.

Megavolt nodded, still in the hug. Quackerjack didn't talk about his past very much. He would always claim that it depressed him to think about it. Now he knew why.

"Well, that's life for you" commented Megavolt, jolting Quackerjack out of his muse. " I mean….look at me…I….I think I was once valedictorian for my class in high school and now I'm a villain who controls electricity. Wait….I might be thinking of being the drum major…."

"Drum major has nothing to do with education. That's being head of the school band and directing them" mumbled Quackerjack, knowing his friend was confused again.

"No…..It…..Yes…." Megavolt thought hard. "I think my name was Drake."

"Drake was your best friend back then. Your real name is Elmo" was the dull reply. Quackerjack's voice was low and minus any enthusiasm.

"Riiiiiiiight!" smiled Megavolt, remembering at last. Quackerjack shook his head.

Megavolt shook his head. "Well, Quacky, I guess that only means one thing!!"

Quackerjack gave him a confusion and interested look. "We have to go and sabotage the Whiffle Boy factory, because no stupid video game is making my Quacky depressed!!" he declared. Quackerjack grinned widely at this, his mood entirely changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: This takes place after my story, Electrifying Memories. This goes into detail about how Quackerjack became insane. I am also using Quackerjack's real name Michael Bell (his voice actor) since no other real name was given for him from the show. Enjoy!

\-------

11 Years Ago

Derek Webler was not known to be very popular to say the least, so most found it odd that the class clown, Michael Bell, became friends with him so eagerly despite his own popularity among the body of students. Everyone loved Michael, and therefore couldn't seem to grasp why he insisted on being seen in the presence of Derek.

But if Michael heard any of this, he ignored it entirely. He didn't care of what others thought about him. That was his best advantage in both high school and college. So it was predictable that the two friends went into similar fields.

Three days after going to get ice cream after classes, Michael found out that he had been hired and was to start the next Monday. To say he and Derek were both thrilled was an understatement. What made it even better was that Derek had been hired as a secretary there, or as a 'go getter'.

Michael's job was simple. He worked on the assembly line. His first job was to put the arms on little toy dolls that were dressed up as soldiers. It wasn't until about five months into the job, did things finally start turning around for him.

\-----

Michael giggled with glee as he stuck another arm onto the doll, sitting on the chair next to the conveyor belt. Derek, who was on his break, shook his head.

"What are you giggling about?" he scoffed. "You've been doing this same thing for four hours now and you think its amusing?" he sipped at his cup of coffee.

Michael looked up at his friend, pushing his red hair out of his face. He was wearing a bright blue work apron with a bright red T-shirt underneath. It had rainbow stripes on it. Michael was known for his crazy outfits. " I am laughing because I just came up with a cute idea for a toy!!" Derek shifted in his spot, ready to listen. "See these toy soldiers?" He placed another arm on another doll. "Now….imagine if these little dolls were able to move about on their own and in their guns…" he pointed further down he conveyor belt, where the dolls got their own little toy muskets. "Could be little puffs of smoke that shoot out, you know, so the kids wouldn't get hurt!"

Derek grinned. "You're crazy! Moving toys?"

Michael nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes! I can picture it in the future! And I'm not crazy!!" he defended himself.

Derek shook his head one last time and checked his watch. "Gotta get back to work" he informed his friend, who nodded. It wasn't ten minutes before Michael heard the door to his boss' office bang open.

"BELL!! GET IN HERE!!" bellowed the overset duck who owned the toy factory.

Michael cringed and winced at the sound, cowering slightly in his chair. He dropped the little toy arm he had had in his hand and stood, heading over to where his boss' office was not too far behind him.

The overset duck watched him carefully as he stepped through the doorway and sat down in his office, waiting to hear what he had done wrong.

Michael was amazed at how much the duck before him had changed. Seconds ago the older duck had looked pissed, but as he sat down, the elderly duck was grinned at him affectionately. He blinked, not knowing what was going on.

Mr. Losset wore a gray business suit and tie, as he always did. He rested both hands on his enormous stomach, leaning back into his chair.

"Mr. Bell…" he began coolly. "It has come to my attention that you truly love toys." Michael was only able to nod and gulp. "Well, I should hope so, considering you work here…" he chuckled as though there was an inside joke of some kind attached to that statement. "It has also come to my attention that you like to doodle with your spare time, sometimes even during your work hours…" Michael looked away. He should have known he was called in here because he was in trouble.

"Yes, sir, I do" mumbled the red-head.

"They were all over your work desk this morning…" Michael looked up at this, worried as to where this was going. "I must say, I have not, in all my years, seen such creative doodles. Did you come up with them yourself?" Flabbergasted, Michael squeaked, "Yes, I did. I'm always thinking of stuff like….like what's on those doodles." Mr. Losset nodded.

"That's good to hear, my boy" he chuckled as he nodded. "Because I'd like you to become my assistant."

Michael looked up at him again with wide eyes.

\------

Present

The toy store was left entirely unsafe, or at least, according to two insane villains. The alarms were easily avoided with the aid of Megavolt's power over electricity. He had taken a blue gloved finger and ran it along the wall of the building, following the flow of electric current he could sense from the wires deep inside even through brick. He followed the flow until he reached the turn off switch, which was zapped off.

"Ooooh, Megsy, you are so awesome! Being able to do stuff like that!!" squeaked Quackerjack with awe. Megavolt blinked, his eyes still on the brick wall in front of him. He then turned to Quackerjack, wide eyed. "What?"

Quackerjack shook his head, bouncing up and down as he took a giant hammer and cracked open the bars and the glass doors. The two of them stepped inside, where all the Whiffle Boys where being kept. They were right out front, so that anyone who walked inside would see them. There was no missing them. And Quackerjack hated them for that.

It wasn't far that they got all the glory while he was able to make toys just as good as Whiffle Boy!! No…..Even better!!

Quackerjack stopped before the large stand of Whiffle Boy toys which were stacked to the ceiling, bowing his head. The little bells at the end of his hat jingled a bit for a moment before he looked back up, glaring daggers at them all.

Megavolt, meanwhile, was lazily walking along the aisles, his mind not really focused on anything in particular, just looking from toy to toy. After spending so much time around Quackerjack's toys, the rodent found them to be quite dull and boring.

A strangled cry from Quackerjack is what made the electrified rodent cry out in shock, having been caught off guard. He quickly ran back to the entrance where he had left his playmate. He was amazed to see that Quackerjack had yet to move from his spot in front of the toys, his head bent low. He saw that the jester's hands were balled tightly into fists. "Quacky….?" he spoke softly.

Quackerjack took a deep breath, looking back up at the toys and without warning, whipped out a large teddy bear from wherever he hid his toys behind his back and cranked it on, his eyes wild. Megavolt cried out in shock when the bear blew out fire, lighting all the Whiffle Boy toys in the display on fire.

Quackerjack threw away the teddy bear and started hopping up and down on each foot. He clapped his hands together, the largest, most sadist grin on his face. He cackled.

"BURN!!! BURN FOREVER IN MY WRATH!!"

The fire alarm suddenly went off thanks to all the smoke the fire had caused, making the sprinklers turned out. Megavolt watched sadly, getting drenched and shorting out, but he didn't seem to notice, for his attention was too much on Quackerjack. The rodent shuddered violently as the water continued to hit him, bringing him out of his trance.

"Come on, Quacky…." he urged his friend. "We gotta go. This will have gotten Darkwip's attention." He referred to the fire alarm. It wasn't a moment later until:

"I am the terror that flaps in the night…. I am the seed that refuses to grow… I am Darkwi----ing Duck!!" Megavolt glanced over, seeing the familiar puff of purple smoke from behind the smoking pile of toys. Quackerjack's eyes never turned away from the mass of burning toys until Darkwing came to the scene, where he finally tore his eyes away to look at the Masked Mallard.

"Come for the barbecue, Darky?" he asked, his eye voice and his eyes still wild.

Darkwing shook his head. "Not today, Jingles!!" He brought out his gas gun.

Megavolt had froze entirely when he saw Darkwing, his mind reeling. Memories from two weeks ago flooding his tormented mind. He looked at Quackerjack, who was getting some of toy teeth ready.

"We're having a barbecue?" Megavolt heard himself ask. He didn't know why he asked it. Quackerjack and Darkwing looked at him, shocked. But Quackerjack's shock didn't last long, and his attention was back onto getting his toy teeth ready.

"Fry that duck, Megsy!!" cried out Quackerjack, letting his toy teeth go.

Megavolt blinked and suddenly he grinned. "Oh…so we ARE having a barbecue. Alright, and let's see, tonight we're having roast duck it seems…." He rubbed his blue gloved hands together, electricity bouncing off them. He moved closer towards Quackerjack, the heat from the fire raging. He started shooting bolts of electricity at Darkwing, who was dodging toy teeth as well.

Something in the back of Megavolt's mind was telling him to stop, but his maniacal side won out and decided not to listen. The sprinklers had, by this point, made the terror of the night soaked as well, which did not help the situation for him in the least as he cried out, his eyes wide, as he jumped up and down, trying not to get bitten by the teeth or shocked by Megavolt.

Quackerjack was laughing nonstop the entire time. He was holding onto his sides since he was laughing so hard.

"Let's just see how well, Darky can handle electricity!!"" began Megavolt and he was about to when nothing came from his pointed index finger. He blinked at it. He shook his hand, not understanding why nothing was happening. He then realized he was wet and he looked up, thankful he had goggles since water would have gotten into his eyes if he didn't. "I shorted out…"

"Yeah, you've been shorted out, Megsy!!" chuckled Quackerjack, starting to calm down. The fire that he had created had started to die down and both villains knew that this was a good time to flee and escape. They both rasp berried Darkwing before running out the broken front doors and into the night, leaving the hero to fend for himself against the vicious toy teeth.

\------

11 years ago

Michael's job was soon focused around Mr. Losset's day. He was in charge of keeping track of new toy designs that were coming in and out of the office, even being allowed to offer some of his own ideas every now and then.

He was charge of taking down any notes that Mr. Losset would need. He was still able to see Derek, who was utterly thrilled when he was told about the promotion.

"See, I knew you would do well here!!' he had said as he gave his friend a pat on the back.

The two friends were currently enjoying milkshakes again.

"To your new job at Losset Toy Factory!" proclaimed Derek, raising his half filled cup of banana milkshake as though in a toast. Michael played along and hit it with his own cup. He chuckled with glee. He smiled then changed to a small frown as he sipped at his shake.

"Yeah…..It's a lot of work though" he mumbled, turning his gaze away.

Derek shrugged and scoffed. "And you thought it wouldn't be!?"

Michael shook his head. "No, nothing like that! It's just, I figured it would be more fun!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "It's always hard work at the beginning but once you get the hang of it, it won't be as bad." This made Michael nod, for he knew he couldn't deny that. "You're too Quacky for your own good, I tell you. You can't even tell when you have a good thing right in front of your nose!!"

Michael faked his offensiveness towards that comment, pouting slightly. " I am not 'Quacky'……" He grinned, a rouge look on his face. "You're just a banana brain!!"

Derek blinked at this. "What the hell is that? Is that supposed to be an insult or the name of a cartoon!?"

"An insult!" smiled Michael. Derek grabbed his shake and took it from his friend.

"I think that's enough sugar for you!"

Michael just crossed his arms and looked away, only to look back as they both smiled and laughed.

\-------------

Megavolt groaned as he pulled his wet jump suit off of him and changed into dry clothes. "I hate water….." he was mumbling. " I hate it…I hate it. I hate it. I hate it!! I hate….." he thought a moment. "What do I hate again?"

"Water" came Quackerjack's voice from the other side of the bed. He too was changing into dry clothes. On the bed next to him was another set of his jester outfit.

Megavolt blinked. "Riiiight.." He pulled off his battery, knowing he was going to have to let it sit and dry for several hours. This meant he'd have to have Quackerjack take him back to his Lighthouse later if they wanted to do any more crimes that night, otherwise it wouldn't be as fun for him. His electricity would be less stable. It was crazy as it was.

Quackerjack hummed slightly, trying to lighten the mood. Neither villain had spoken about what had happened at the store earlier. Quackerjack wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He finished changing first and glanced back around at the rodent, who now had his blanks pants on and was in the midst of putting on his yellow top.

This only made Quackerjack's mood even more sour, for he now looked more like "Elmo" than "Megavolt".

He reached over across the bed, reaching to the left side of the bed to grab the rodent's hand but missed as Megavolt moved it. So, he pulled at Mr. Banana Brain.

"How are you, Stu?" said the doll's high pitched voice.

Megavolt turned around, his goggles still on, and blinked at the doll. "Uhhh…. Good, you?"

""I've been better, Cheddar" the doll lamented.

Megavolt laid back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. He then brought up his still gloved hand and started snapping his fingers, hoping a spark would come. Nothing. He was still shorted out. "Why, what's the matter with you, you're just a doll!"

"Oh, that's not very nice…" 

"Well, I'm not a nice person…" grumbled Megavolt, lifting his leg up and taking off his one boot. He then took off the other. "I don't think I am, anyway…."

Quackerjack put down Mr. Banana Brain and started playing with Megavolt's little tuft of red hair on his head. Megavolt, who was still laying down, looked at him, seeing him upside down. "I was having a conversation…"

"With who?"

"……….." 

Quackerjack snickered.

"You sort of went insane at the store earlier….I mean, more insane than usual…" whispered Megavolt, knowing he was getting into a touchy subject. He knew every well that Quackerjack didn't like serious moments, which this was, but he knew he had to bring it up anyways.

Quackerjack frowned deeply and looked away, recoiling his hand. He sniffed and said, "It's hard for me, Megsy, you know that. And I just get worked up when I see that damn Whiffle Boy…" Megavolt nodded. Then his friend said something that startled him, but it wasn't just that. It was how Quackerjack said it. His voice was low and normal. Nothing like Quackerjack's usual voice. It made Megavolt sit up and look at him. "It's slowly tearing me up, Megs. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. Playing games and bouncing on my pogo stick isn't helping me anymore ….like it used to. No more ideas have been coming to me about new toys…." The jester looked as though he was on the verge of tears. "Help me, Megsy….." And the tears fell as Megavolt quickly went up to him and held him close, allowing the jester to cry on his shoulder just this once. He was shorted out anyways. He just hoped he could help his insane friend.

\--------------


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

There room was silent as Megavolt stood in the middle of the room. He was still wearing his black pants and yellow shirt for his battery had still not dried out since he had been under the sprinklers earlier that night.

He looked about the room, which was Quackerjack's lair. He was surrounded by appliances, which he had found about the lair.

Quackerjack, the usually jubilant jester, had ended up crying on his shoulder and after a good cry, fallen asleep. After tucking the jester into his bed he snuck out of the room and was now with his appliances.

He had wanted to bring the refrigerator in with the little circle gathering, but it was in a grumpy mood and Megavolt was not in the mood to tolerate its rude comments.

He grinned, bringing his hands together as he looked around himself. "Ah…I see that everyone is now here…" Two dozen light bulbs, a toaster, a microwave, a lamp, a radio, a TV, and a head set were what he was referring to. He sat down in the middle of the circle and then began. "Well, let's talk! I have no one to talk to and let's face it, Quacky isn't gonna be in the mood to talk once he wakes up…." Megavolt blinked at the toaster.

"Don't call my Quacky that!! That--" he pointed an accusing finger at the toaster. "That is uncalled for!!" His face had gone cherry red. There was silence as Megavolt continued to listen to the inanimate object. He growled. "That's enough outta you!!"

He turned away from the toaster, now facing his large collection of light bulbs. He picked up one of them, cuddling it close to his chest. "You wouldn't say such nasty things about Quacky, now would you….Mr. Bulby-Wulby" he cooed. He looked over at the TV, raising an eyebrow.

"That's…not true…." he told the TV, putting the light bulb back down and picking up another one. Megavolt gasped, clutching the light bulb as though it was his life. "I do not treat my light bulbs better than I treat any of you others!"

There was silence again and Megavolt looked down and into his hands, where the light bulb was. He grinned sheepishly back at the TV and placed the light bulb back down on the cement floor, seeing that the TV had a point.

"Okay, but they're little! It's harder for them to defend themselves!!" cried out Megavolt. He flinched at how loud he had said that, glancing at Quackerjack's door. He had to remind himself to talk quietly.

Silence filled the room for a while as Megavolt kept himself quiet, listening to his friends. He watched as they all had conversations, thrilled that they were getting along with each other. "You know," he then said. "You all have a point! Oooh, if only I had my battery working again and I wasn't shorted out, I'd give you all new, stronger power, so that you guys could fight back!!"

He glanced over at the light bulbs and with a snap of his fingers, he made all of them bounce up and down with the small amount of electricity he currently had within him. It wasn't much and it didn't take much at all to do it. So all the little light bulbs bounced up and down, making the rodent beam with pride.

"Oh, yes, you are right my little ones, it is fun to have this ability…" sighed Megavolt. He listened for more comments when he suddenly heard a new voice very clearly.

"Are you talking with my appliances again, Megsy?" He then felt hands on both of his shoulders. The rodent looked up from his Indian-style position of the floor and saw Quackerjack looking down at him, a small smile on his beak.

Megavolt blinked at him. "No…"

"You are a terrible liar, Megsy, you know that?" he said, his voice a little more happy and silly.

"I'm a better one than you are!" shot back the rodent. Quackerjack just shrugged at this, and helped his friend stand. Quackerjack glanced over at the light bulbs, which were still bouncing up and down. "Megsy, love…" he whispered, a grin on his face. Megavolt looked at Quackerjack and despite his usual happy voice, the rodent could see that there were circles under his eyes. Even through his harlequin hat, he could tell.

The jester played with the rodent's collar, making Megavolt blush. "Could you please make my light bulbs stop dancing….I'm gonna need to use them eventually." This earned him a sour look, since the jester said he planned to use the light bulbs, but in his frazzled mind, that meant 'enslave' them. With another click of his fingers, they stopped bouncing up and down.

"Yeah, well, someday me and my luminaries are going to rule the world!!" he spoke bitterly as Quackerjack moved away, ignoring Megavolt for a moment as he stood there with his arms crossed, staring out in front of him. He picked up his toaster and put it back where it belonged. He giggled at Megavolt's comment.

"I'm sure you will, Megsy. I'll be right beside you when that happens."

"You feeling any better?" asked Megavolt after several long minutes of silence as Quackerjack put all his appliances away.

Quackerjack made a groaning sound as his harlequin hat lowered along with his mood. "No…."

Megavolt sighed. "Would you feel better if you destroyed some more Whiffle Boy toys….?"

Quackerjack debated, seriously considering it. A grin came across his face. "Yes."

Megavolt acted immediately. He ran into the back room and several minutes later, brought out a bunch a dismantled Whiffle Boy toys. "Now, remember Quacky, what are we not going to do this time?"

Quackerjack crossed his arms and pouted. "Throw water on you by accident.."

"Yes!"

\--------------------

The tension in the room was so thick that it could have been sliced with a knife. Michael sat in his usual chair beside Mr. Losset in the owner's office, knowing that the man in the chair across the desk from them was making him very angry. He knew the look of anger Mr. Losset gave out to people that really pissed him off, and that was what he was getting now.

He looked back down at his note pad. He was supposed to be jotting down notes, not staring out at space like a clown! His pencil immediately started going, writing down any notes that might be needed in the future.

"Listen, Mr. Meddle, I am just not interested in the ideas that you have going on here. My toy factory is based on, as you called them 'old fashioned toys', and none of these, 'new, state of the art' toys. Now, I will fund some of your ideas, so that you can have good starting plans. Help you out and get you on your feet, but no more." the large duck was saying. The man across from him was an older rat who was about his age. He did not look at all pleased by what he was being told.

"I can assure you, Mr. Losset, that with my added suggestion to this toy factory, you will not be disappointed" he spoke calmly, but his voice held a sharp ring to it.

Mr. Losset shook his head. " I am sorry, but I just not interested" and with that he stood up, his large persona looking all the more intimidating now to the thin rat. Mr. Meddle stared up at him, looking outraged.

"Fine. Your loss. Good day, Mr. Losset!" he hissed and was out the door within seconds.

Mr. Losset sighed and looked over at Michael, who had stopped taking notes at this point. A small smile formed over his beak. "You see, there, Michael? In this business, you're constantly fighting off those who want nothing but your money." He sat back down, getting comfortable. Michael was about to say something, when he was cut off. "Now, it's very possible that his ideas are real and he will go into business for himself. Well, he wanted to become part of this toy factory, but I will not allow it. It would taint the factory and its purpose."

Michael scratched the back of his neck. "Umm….what is the purpose of this toy factory, sir?"

Mr. Losset tilted his head, looking slightly disappointed. "My dear boy, I would have hoped you would have figured that out by now, surely." There was a moment of silence. "Anyways, the point of this toy factory is simple. It's to allow kids to be happy. This factory brings playtime to the world of children everywhere.

"Playtime?" asked Michael with a grin. He found that amusing. He had been expecting a more serious answer. That was Mr. Losset for you. When you expected something serious to come from him, you got nothing but nonsense. It amazed Michael to no end.

Mr. Losset sighed. "Yes….Playtime. The time where kids do nothing but play. I used to love playtime. That's why I have made it so that my life is focused on making toys that will make a child's playtime all the more fun."

Michael nodded, smiling fondly at Mr. Losset's reasoning. "I think that's the best reason to make toys, sir" he said softly. Mr. Losset looked over at him.

"I know, Michael. That's why I made you my assistant" he took a deep breath and looked away, silent for several long minutes while Michael looked down at the notes he had taken. He looked back up when Mr. Losset started speaking again. "I won't be around forever, Michael, and sadly, someone is going to have to take over my toy factory. And I was….hoping that that person….was going to be you, Michael."

Michael froze at this. His heart seemed to stop as he looked at Mr. Losset, his eyes wide. His mind was racing, trying to say that what was said, wasn't just said. In all his wildest dreams he couldn't have dreamed of such a job. To be the owner of a toy factory!! He tried speaking, but his voice wouldn't work. It was as if it had been broken by what Mr. Losset said. He opened and closed his mouth several times as Mr. Losset simply chuckled at him.

"Big job, isn't it, my boy? Simply blows your mind away. Yes, I had the same reaction as you did when it finally occurred to me that I was the owner of a toy factory. You, like me, love toys to death. You create your own ideas with your wild imagination which is just waiting to be unleashed. I can see it in you, Michael. You're the one who will take over this factory once I am gone…" Michael blinked and looked down into his lap. His large beak trembled a bit as he tried to think of the right words to say after being told something like that. He looked back up and Mr. Losset and said in a small voice, "I don't know what to say…. Thank you so much, sir. I…..You really believe in me that much to give me such responcibitly!?"

Mr. Losset chuckled and nodded. "Of course I do, my boy. I trust that you will continue this factory good and proper! Now…." he stood up at this and went to the other side of his office, where the was a chest of drawers where the younger duck knew he kept old and important files. The heavyset duck clicked his tongue, opening up the first drawer and skimming through all the folders and documents. Michael just sat there in the small chair next to his desk, still in shock as to what was happening.

"Ah. Here it is…" said the other duck. He adjusted the large green business jacket he was wearing as he came back over to his chair to sit down. "Now…I have not yet told this to anyone." Michael sat up a bit more in his chair, completely focused on what he was about to be told. "When I…." Mr. Losset coughed a bit, clearing his throat. "When I….first started this factory, or…I should say, when I first bought this building….I knew that I would need a name for this factory. I… considered many different names besides Losset's Toy…..And one of them….I regret not using each and every day…"

Michael's eyes went wide with curiosity. "Oooh, what was that Mr. Losset?"

"Well, before I tell you, I have a bit of a story to share with you, which will help you understand the name a little better. You see, I am an old man….." he chuckled a bit at this. "And when I was a small lad, the toy that was popular at the time was called a Jack-in-the-Box." Michael nodded at this. "Well, it was the first toy I had ever received, to my remembrance, and I played with it constantly. It didn't do much, of course, save for pop out at me, but it fascinated me. And because of this fascination, I went into the toy making business."

"Wow…that little toy made you go into all this?" pondered Michael, not really believing it as he motioned to the office and building they were in. Mr. Losset chuckled. "Well, that was not the only thing that influenced me. There was many more things. But that toy, since it was my first, influenced me to choose this name. Of course, as I said, I didn't use it….But the name I wished I named this factory is "Quackerjack Toys"."

Michael blinked at the name. "Quackerjack Toys?"

Mr. Losset frowned at this, looking away. "You think its strange and weird, just like everyone else." There was some slight anger in his voice.

Michael freaked, seeing as how he somehow managed to offend his boss. "N-No, its nothing like that, sir! It just caught me off guard is all! I mean, I understand how the "jack" part of the name came from, but what about the "quacker' part?"

This question seemed to put Mr. Losset in a much better mood as a small smile returned to his beak. "Well, at least you have the decency to ask such a good question, unlike many others…" He adjusted his position on the chair. "I wanted a name that was different than any other. One that, when heard, people would smile and know immediately that it was meant to be a silly."

Michael nodded. "I like it."

"No you don't." Mr. Losset grumbled dejectedly, standing at this, fixing his jacket once more. He turned back around to Michael. "Now, my next appointment is with the S.P.E.C. Industry, correct? To talk about the electrical services here at the factory?"

Michael, who had briefly spaced out about the denial of his liking to the name "Quackerjack Toys", nervously came to reality and quickly went through the little notebook of appointments and notes he had. "Uhhh," he scanned the pages, knowing his boss was waiting patiently on him. He ran a finger down the page. "Y-Yes! Yes, they wish to talk to you about the amount of electricity used for the factory."

Mr. Losset nodded as he opened the door that led out of the office. "That is what I thought…..Thank you, Michael. You shouldn't be needed for the rest of the day, so feel free to go home if you wish." He was about to leave when he came back in and winked at Michael. "I may just do the same…" Michael nodded, knowing how the boss loved to take the day off early if he could.

Once the door shut, Michael breathed in heavily, then let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his long red bangs and hair. He organized the book of notes he always carried with him and stood, brushing himself off and heading out the door as well. He didn't understand why Mr. Losset was so dead set sure that he hadn't liked the name. And he didn't know why, but it irked him. Both the fact that Mr. Losset thought he disliked it and the name itself irked him. The name was nothing like he'd heard before, especially not for a toy factory. But it did fit. He had the strangest feeling that that name was going to mean a lot to him someday.

He shook his head as he closed the door. "What a crazy thought…" he mumbled to himself. He glanced around the factory, seeing Mr. Losset talking animatedly to one of the conveyor belt workers. It was the job he had once had when he first started working there. He then looked and saw the new line of toys that they had started the week before. It was a line a yo-yos that they had started to make. They were all brightly colored and packaged with colorful boxes. It was so that the kids would feel drawn to them, since children loved bright colors.

He glanced over and saw Derek sitting at his desk, hiding behind a newspaper. He looked down at his bright yellow toy watch and grinned like a fool. His friend was on his break.

"Oh, DEREK!!!" cried the duck, sounding like a little kid on Christmas. Derek didn't even have enough time to react before his paper was taken away from him and the large toothy grin of Michael came into view. He then registered that Michael was sitting on his desk.

"Hey!! I thought you were in that business meeting" smiled Derek.

Michael shook his head. "Nah, its over. Losset said I could have the rest of the day off" He placed his feet up on the desk only to have the shooed back off by his friend. Derek looked up.

"Really, that's neat. We'll have to do something then…" He looked back down at the paper that Michael had snatched from him. "Oh, hey, would you look at this. Just when we think St. Canard can't get any more weird." he grabbed the paper and started reading it.

"'The highly anticipated prom for the St. Canard high school was surprisingly attacked by an unknown person. This person had a large red afro for hair, was wearing a strange spandex rubber suit with kitchen gloves and purple goggles. He was able to use what looked like electricity and shoot it from his hands. Any other known information about said person is currently unknown. All students at the prom remember him saying his name, but oddly cannot remember what it was. They were then saved by another unknown person named Darkwing Duck and very little is known about him as well. Now, the football captain Hamm String--" Derek put the paper down. "It then talks about the idiot jock football captain they have there." He didn't bother hiding his disgust.

Michael had listened, his face covered with surprise. "Wow….That's intense. There are some really messed up people out there, Derek." He shook his head, but his grin soon replaced his odd frown. "So what should we do once you're off work?"

Derek shrugged. "I dunno. I suppose just hang out at one of our houses or something. I have some beers--" Michael cut him off.

"No alcohol. Remember what happened last time!"

Derek's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, right! Jeez! How could I have forgotten THAT night!?" Michael laughed.

"Are your folks going to be home?"

Michael's expression turned from amused to anger immediately. "Does it matter? They don't know I'm even working here. My parents never pay ANY attention to me. They're too busy paying attention to my older brother, Mark. The 'perfect one'" he sneered. "I'm surprised they haven't made me get my own apartment yet!"

"Mike, you're only--"

"Twenty-one!! Yeah, most people are out of the house by then! You are!!" revoked Michael.

"Yeah, cause my family is so poor they can't afford me at the house. Besides, it's not your fault you can't find a decent apartment around here. Besides, take advantage. You don't have to pay rent or anything. I envy you, man!" Michael just rolled his eyes.

"New topic. I hate this topic. I hate thinking about my family!" quipped Michael.

"That's harsh" frowned Derek.

"I don't care!" he crossed his arms. He then looked up in time to see Mr. Losset wave at him from across the room and waved back. He then looked back down at Derek, still sitting on his desk. "He wants me to own this factory when he's gone…"

Derek's eyes widened greatly. "Dude, are you serious! Michael, that's what you've always wanted! You've always wanted to own your own toy factory!!" He stood from his chair, patting his friend on the back. Michael nodded. "hey, why aren't you more excited?"

Michael shrugged. "It probably just hasn't sunk in yet." He sighed. "Well, he just made it sound as though it was going to happen soon, you know?" Derek peered at him, confused. "don't even ask, I don't know what I mean either."

Derek looked down at his watch. "You know, I can blow the rest of my work time. I only have another thirty minutes. Come on, let's go get a milkshake, my treat."

Michael glanced at him, grinning. "Your treat, eh? How can I say no?" he said in a suave voice. He jumped down from the desk and pulled off his name tag that was pinned over his right breast, sticking it into his pocket. "Let me guess, you're gonna get banana."

"However did you know?" teased Derek as he took off his work jacket.

"Three Theories of mine that all begin with the letter H" giggled Michael.

Derek blinked as they waved at all their other friends who worked at the factory, heading out the main doors which Mr. Losset had left through earlier. "What?"

"You asked me how I guessed and I told you I guessed with the help of my Three Theories, which all begin with the letter H." he repeated, knowing his friend wouldn't have gotten it. He stretched and placed his hands behind his head.

"Three Theories that begin with H…? you're insane…." muttered Derek, shaking his head. They were once again blinded by the bright sun.

"No, I'm not. I just think outside the box!" insisted the red head.

"Quacky!"

"Banana Brain!!"

The two friends continued to insult each other all the way until they reached the Ice Cream Parlor.

\--------

Quackerjack panted as he hit another Whiffle Boy figurine with his toy hammer, glaring down at it with pure hatred, his nostrils flaring. They were still inside the jester's lair, destroyed pieces of Whiffle Boy toys all over the place. The fire alarm had only gone off once briefly before which the sprinklers came on and Megavolt quickly took cover.

The electrical rodent was now half asleep on the couch, which was not far from where Quackerjack was still destroying the hated toys. The jester clown had been doing this most of the afternoon and Megavolt was a little too worried for his friend to leave him alone seeing as how strangely he'd been acting recently. He didn't want his friend to get hurt, for he meant too much to him.

Quackerjack gave out a cry of anger and anguish, which jolted Megavolt awake. Hew jumped up, ready for action, though his eyes weren't seeing much since he was still sleepy. "What!? Where!? Take that you evil power-draining freak!!" The rodent then went silent as he clutched his head and blinked, then looked up to see that it was only Quackerjack, who still had the toy hammer in his hands.

"Calm down, Megsy…it's only me…" spoke the jester, but his voice was different. It wasn't his usual upbeat voice. It was lower and slightly more harsh. This didn't go past Megavolt's notice.

The rat nodded, now in the real world instead of his dreams. "Feel any better?" He prayed the answer was a positive. But the jester shook his head, a pout on his beak.

Megavolt looked away and sighed. "What is the matter with you?" He walked up to his favorite person and wrapped his arms around the jester's waist, playing with Quackerjack's purple clown pants. Quackerjack tossed the hammer to the floor, Whiffle Boy toys littering the floor around them. It was a mess. Megavolt didn't want to even think about cleaning the place up. It would waste his energy.

"You need to calm down, Quacky. I really don't like seeing you like this. What has you so upset all of a sudden? Is it that commercial? Forget about it, seriously!" insisted Megavolt. He was about to put his chin of his friend's shoulder , just like the jester was always doing to him, when Quackerjack pushed him away and started walking over towards a closet that wasn't very far away from them.

"I am calm. Well, as calm as an insa---" he cut himself off, looking away. Megavolt just looked at him funny from behind, having watched him walk away. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on. This bothered him to no end. He hated not knowing what was going on.

Quackerjack wrapped his arms around him, trembling. "I sicken myself" spat the jester.

Megavolt looked up at this, having started to play with a light bulb he had grabbed from a nearby desk. "What?"

Quackerjack, his back still to Megavolt, repeated himself, only more loudly and harsher. "I sicken myself!" He turned on his heel, now facing his closest friend. "II look at myself and it sickens me to no end!!"

"Since when!? I didn't know that! Did you know that there are sun powered lights out there in the world now!? Finally someone is using their head!!" He said last sentence with great enthusiasm and excitement, not to mention loudly. He had raised his arms in the air to show his feelings of the thought of that. A moment when by and he suddenly brought his arms back down and said, "Wait…." He looked at Quackerjack. "That's not what we were talking about, was it?"

Quackerjack just stared at him, not comprehending what just happened. He knew his friend couldn't help being the way he was, otherwise he would have been upset. But that wasn't what was bothering him. He felt as though he didn't know who he was anymore. He wanted to tell Megavolt, but every time he started, he never could. "No, Megsy, that's not what we were talking about. And I think those have been out for a while now…." Megavolt found this piece of news interesting, for a shrugged with a smile. "I was telling you that I sicken myself…"

"Really…." whispered Megavolt, spacing out. He snapped out of it. "Wait, you sicken yourself!? Why!?" He was beside the jester once again, trying to be comforting.

Quackerjack looked away.

"I don't know why. I just do" he trembled a bit more. "I don't know who I am anymore!" He cried this out.

Megavolt stared at him, unfazed. "Welcome to my world…."

Quackerjack couldn't help but give out a small giggle at this comment. But it didn't last long and the unfamiliar frown on his face was quickly back. "I…. Nothing I usually do makes me feel good…you know….like it should…" He pulled down hard on his harlequin hat. The little bells at the end of his hat weren't jingling like they used to and Megavolt found this odd, but didn't think too much of it.

Quackerjack walked over to the beat up couch and sank into it. He curled up into a ball, at which point Megavolt sat down beside him, grabbing a the other's hand and rubbing it. He looked and saw that Quackerjack was practically asleep. He stood, hoping not to disturb him, and went to find a blanket, which, if he remembered correctly, could be found in the closet. He grabbed a light bulb on his way.

"No, Bulby, he's still not doing very well…" he sighed, caressing the light bulb's smooth glass. "I don't know what's wrong…." More silence. Megavolt looked up. "Why am I in a closet?"

\------

Laughter filled the hallway outside the door that led to Michael's room. The door opened with a loud bang against the floor, both Michael and Derek grabbing onto their sides, dieing of laughter. After several long minutes worth of laughter and tears, the two of them finally managed to calm themselves down.

"Michael! That was so hilarious, how you took your shake and threw it at the car. I think that was that one kid's car, you know, who used to bother us all the time…?"

"Yeah, I think you're right. I can't think of his name though…" Michael pushed his bangs back, looking around his room. His room was covered with stuffed animals and all kind of odds and ends. Toys littered the room, some where his own creations, which were either finished or half completed. His desk was covered with doodles of toy ideas. The only par of the room that looked decent was where his bed was, which was surprisingly made.

Having calmed down completely now, Michael smiled at his friend. "That was a fun day. I mean, we didn't do much, but for some reason, it meant as lot to me."

"You're getting sappy on me, now stop it" warned Derek with a grin. He pulled off his baseball cap, letting his blonde hair be shown and tossing it on Michaels' desk.

"I'm sorry. That's just the way I feel though" he sighed. He fell onto his bed, Derek sitting right beside him. "We'll always be friends, right Derek?"

Derek seemed taken aback by this question, having not seen it coming. He blinked, then looked forward. He was about to say another quip remark, but he knew his friend was being serious. "Of course. I mean, I plan to be your friend for always. Unless you do something that totally pisses me off, then I might have to reconsider" he said this jokingly. Michael nodded.

"I've had a lot of people come up to me and ask, 'Why are you friends with Derek Webler'" he used a lower voice to imitate someone else's voice. Derek nodded, already knowing this and feeling guilty. "And I've always told them, 'because I want to!' and its true. I've never found a reason not to be your friend. You know? Promise me you'll always be there" He took out his hand. Derek shook it with a large smile.

"I promise." He was about to say something else when the phone rang. It was on the desk which was right beside the window in his room. Michael stood up to get it, answering it. "Hello, Bell residence. This is he." Derek sat on the bed, watching his friend, waiting to see who it was. He frowned as he watched his friend's expression turn to shock. Michael's hands started to shake. "What? He…..So…he's….?" His trembling got even worse, which alarmed the other duck greatly. Derek stood, knowing something was definitely wrong. His mind raced, thinking of all that could be wrong. "Yes, thank you. Thank you for telling me. I'll…..I'll be there in a little while. Alright….bye…." Michael hung up the phone.

"What is it!?" demanded Derek.

Michael's expression was blank, his eyes hazed over; in deep thought. He looked over at is friend. "Mr. Losset is dead."

Derek's eyes widened. "What!? How!? How did he die!?"

"Heart attack" the trembling was getting even worse.

"My God! That's terrible! Wow….But you know, when it happens, it happe-" he was cut off when Michael fell to the floor, landing on his rear. "Mike!! Hey, you okay? Come on!!" He tried getting his friend to stand, but Michael was too deep in thought to go anywhere. "What's up with you!? I mean, I know you were friends with him but--"

"I own it…" whispered Michael. Derek blinked at him, confused.

"What?"

"The factory….I own it….It now belongs to me…" Michael continued to whisper, just staring out in front of him.

"That's a little rude. A person just died and that's what you're thinking of!?" asked Derek incredulously.

Michael snapped out of, looking up at his friend and glaring. "Yes! Yes, that's what I'm thinking about! I'm thinking about it because I am now freaking out! What happened to Mr. Losset can't be changed.! But all I know is that I own a toy factory! ME! Own a toy factory!! Derek, do you have any idea the pressure I am now under!? I have no idea how to run a toy factory! I mean, A TOY FACTORY!!!" He convulsed, the trembling nearly making him unable to focus. He put his head his hands and tried to calm himself down.

Derek nodded, finally understanding what his friend had meant. It was a tough job, especially for a kid who was only a sophomore in college. Only twenty one years old. That was asking a lot of a person like that. "You can do it, though. I know you can" Derek spoke up. Michael looked up at his at this, still on the floor. He stood, the trembling started to disappear.. He glanced out the window and squinted. He looked hard, seeing a power line that went down along the street. "Is that…? There's a person on that telephone pole." Derek just stared at him. "Looks like he's talking to a light bulb…." There was an awkward silence for several long minutes. Michael finally looked away.

He went to his bed and sat down, hiding his face in his feathered hands. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do…"

Derek sat down beside him. "You are gonna go to the hospital, see him, you'll pay your respects at the funeral, and you're run the factory just had he would have wanted you to. You told me earlier he wanted you to be the owner, and he wouldn't have just picked anybody. He knew that you would be able to do it!"

Michael nodded, knowing that what his friend was saying was right. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for such a job. "Yeah, I'll do that. And you know, the first thing I'll do….Is re-name the factory. It'll be known as Quackerjack Toys. Just as he would have wanted it." Derek smiled, knowing his friend was feeling a little more confident. Neither of them knew what the future held.

\----


	4. Chapter 4

Toymaker Madness

Chapter 4

The idea of owning his own toy factory was beginning to mess with his head. It made him tremble at the idea of being in charge of something so large and important. It was such a large responsibility and although he knew how to do the job, thanks to Mr. Losset, he still felt that he wouldn't be able to.

He had gone to the hospital later that evening and saw for himself that Mr. Losset was in fact dead. He had gone in and briefly seen the lifeless body. He had died of a massive heart attack. It made his head spin to think that just earlier that same day he had been sitting next to Mr. Losset, jotting down any notes that he would want about the meeting, or keeping track of the dates and times of his meetings. Of course, he was also jotting down his own idea, by request of Mr. Losset. The heavy set duck had told him to do that, for he claimed it helped him remember any sudden ideas. He had listened as Mr. Losset explained how the owner of a toy factory did things and how the job worked.

But now, as he wore black, standing next to Derek, who looked identical to him, holding an umbrella over his head due to the heavy rain as everyone gathered around the gravestone of Mr. Ed Losset, he felt numb. He just stared off in front of him, knowing that if it hadn't been for Derek, he wouldn't have shown up at all.

Michael sighed as the gathering of those paying their respects left, feeling the small tug on his sleeve as Derek tried to pull him out of his reverie. "He was like family to me, Derek…." Derek nodded, having heard this before. "He was an adult who actually paid attention to me." This last bit came out a bit bitterly.

Derek placed a hand on his shoulder, directling his depressed friend towards his car, carrying their umbrella over his head, since they were sharing one. "Listen, things will get better. I promise. You'll take over the factory and everyone will respect you just as they did Mr. Losset."

Michael nodded. He ducked inside the passenger's side of the car and slouched in as Derek got into the driver's seat and buckled up. Michael did the same. "I'm gonna re-name the factory to Quackerjack Toys" he commented.

"Why?"

"Because that is what Losset would have wanted me to do. Personally, I think that's exactly what he wanted me to do. Why else would he have told me about it?" Derek nodded at his friend's reasoning.

Derek looked over and saw the depressed look on Michael's face. "Okay, listen. Think of it this way. Now you'll finally be able to make all your toy ideas come to life. You're the head boss, you get to choose. So, put some of those doodles of yours to good use!"

Michael blinked, snapping out of his deep thoughts. The road and trees and everything outside the car whizzed passed them as Derek drove. "You're right" a small smile somehow crept onto the duck's large beak. Derek smiled at his accomplishments of making his friend feel better. "You are totally right!" The smile on his beak soon grew as the wheels in his mind started to turn. Derek glanced over during a red light, noting that he had never seen his friend look so happy, the smile of his face making his large buck teeth show completely. It wasn't his normal 'happy' smile, it was beyond happy. It sort of crept him out.

\--------------

"Mr. Bulby-Wulby is too tired to glow anymore, isn't he?" Megavolt was mumbling to one of his many light bulbs. He had to speak quietly because Quackerjack was still sleeping on the couch. He was sitting at the edge of the couch, where he still wouldn't bother Quackerjack, but would be close enough to be there if he woke up.

He made a soft moaning sound as he lamented over his unhappy light bulb friend. Megavolt glanced over and saw that Quackerjack's one arm was hanging off the couch. With his one free hand he grabbed it and gently placed it back on the couch, but when he went to let go, Quackerjack's limp hand suddenly grabbed his wrist firmly, startling him.

"Quacky? You awake?" he never received a response, so he figured his jester friend must still be asleep. Several moments of silence went by while Quackerjack's hand still held on tightly to Megavolt's. Then, Megavolt heard a soft moan escape Quackerjack's beak. He listened hard, hoping to hear it again and figure out what was being said. His back ached as he leant forward since his battery was now back on. He was in his Megavolt costume again.

"Der…" mumbled the unconscious duck. Megavolt frowned, still unable to understand. "Der……Derek……..Derek…" Megavolt blinked, now being able to hear what he was saying. He put down the light bulb in his right hand and scratched the back of his neck.

'Derek?' he thought to himself in his frazzled mind. "Derek. Derek. Derek.' He tried searching the few scattered memories he had and tried to figure out why he would be saying that name. 'Its not me, is it? Maybe that's my real name…. I can never remember it, so it would make sense if it was unfamiliar to me….' He finally concluded his search for the relevance of the name, satisfied. Now the question was, why was he calling him Derek instead of Megavolt? So many questions, it hurt his head.

"Don't…leave.. me" muttered Quackerjack. Those three little words made the rodent's heart sore. He pushed himself closer to the jester, now thankful that Quackerjack was still holding his hand. It was allowing him to know he was there for him. Megavolt smiled fondly down at his favorite friend. He wouldn't leave Quackerjack. He never could. He meant too much to him to be left behind. He would make sure that he was there for Quackerjack no matter what.

\----------------

The toy factory was working hard for the new season of toys to be shipped out into the stores soon. A new line of toys was being made and new toy lines always made the toy factory in a tizzy, for no one knew how well the new line would sell.

But Michael was having his own stress and problems inside his new office on the second floor of the factory. Outside his office was a balcony, that allowed him to overlook the entire factory. Well, all but the back rooms. Michael was currently sitting in the seat where Mr. Losset once sat, which made him all the more uncomfortable. He couldn't seem to get that fact out of his head. It didn't help when he glanced over and saw the small little chair that he would sit in and take down Mr. Losset's notes and dates. Well, Mr. Losset wasn't around anymore, and it was now his job to run the factory. He was sitting across from a middle aged woman duck who wore her auburn hair in a tight bun and wore glasses. She reminded him of a teacher.

"Mr. Bell, you called me in here wishing to discuss the changing of the factory's name, correct?" she began, her voice small and severe. Michael nodded, coming out of his thoughts. He sat up slightly straighter and pulled back the bangs from his face. He didn't feel right wearing the navy blue suit he was wearing.

"Yes, Miss Colburn. You are correct. I would like to have the factory renamed as Quackerjack Toys" he said this with as much confidence as he could, pulling out the folder that Mr. Losset had shown him that discussed the naming of the factory. He showed to Miss Colburn, who looked at with watchful eyes. As she did this, he continued. "It is my belief that Mr. Losset had wanted and was planning to change the name soon and since he is…….no longer with us, I have made the decision to fulfill his wish." This wasn't entirely true. Mr. Losset had never told him that he had been planning to change it, but he knew, deep down, that Mr. Losset had wanted him to. That was why he brought it up to begin with.

Miss Colburn nodded, a small smile on her small beak. "Well, I shall run there through my office and in the next day or so, this factory will soon be known as : Quackerjack Toys." She stood from her chair, as did Michael, and they shook hands. She left the office seconds afterwards. Michael sighed and sank into his chair. He didn't know how much he was going to be able to handle all this before he cracked under all the pressure. He had so many things to do and things to check on. He had no idea the work Mr. Losset had had to do while he'd still been alive. Michael certainly hadn't seen him work this work as he followed him around like a little lost puppy.

He stood again from his chair and walked out the door, then leaned against the balcony and watched everyone work. He could see Derek down at his desk, on the phone and writing something down. He had to give his friend credit, he was being so supportive of him and helping him along with this large change in his life. He didn't know what he would do without him.

"Mr. Bell?" came a voice. Michael looked over and saw a scrawny looking boy in his work outfit come up the metal stairs that led up to the balcony. He still wasn't used to people calling him Mr. Bell.

"Yes, Colton?"

"There are new boxes being shipped in from this other factory. No one knows why they are here, they just are. They are filled with little stuffed animals." he explained. The boy brought out from behind his back a little odd looking stuffed animal. Well, it wasn't an animal, it appeared to be a person. A duck dressed in some sort of space suit. Michael found it to be the oddest thing he had ever seen in his life. And he had seen some pretty strange toys in both reality and his mind.

He took the stuffed animal from the boy and turned it this way and that, examining it. "Strange. Do you know who the sender is?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, it says its from Mr. J. Meddle, from the small toy business across town."

There was the answer. It finally made sense. Mr. Meddle had come in to have a talk with Mr. Losset not too long ago, hoping to start a partnership with their factories. Mr. Meddle had just recently started in the industry and therefore had a very small toy business across town. Both Mr. Losset and Michael had known that he had only been hoping for money when he has asked for the partnership, but it seemed that he was still determined. He had sent them all these boxes of the same stuffed animal. But why? Was it to brag? To show off? This all made Michael very uneasy. He looked back up at Colton. "Thank you, Colton. I'll decide what to do with them." The boy left, hurrying back to his job on the conveyor belt.

Michael leaned against the balcony again, the toy in his hand. It was time to start thinking in his own ways. If Mr. Meddle wanted to brag and show off, then he would just have to do the same thing. He figured that now that Losset was dead, Michael would cave underneath the pressure and Meddle would soon be the best toymaker. Well, he had another thing coming. The same odd bucktoothed smile came over his beak. He would show them all.

\---

Months came and went by quickly for Michael, who was busy working on his latest work. He soon got into the swing of things and got used to running the factory. He worked constantly, much to Derek's anger. He spent more and more time thinking about the factory and less about anything else. He had worked hard to make a total of five new toys for the new line from Quackerjack Toys. Yo-yos, jump ropes, Quackpatch dolls, toy soldiers that moved when round up, and little bears that giggled when they were hugged by little children.

Business was booming and sale were high. Michael couldn't have felt any more self pride than he already felt about the whole situation. Everyone loved their toys. He even had several commercials made for his toys. Soon all of Mr. Losset's older toys had been remade and now under the label of Quackerjack Toys. All of the toys emitting from the factory were now his and he loved it.

It was late January, after the rush of the holidays and sales that Michael was finally able to get some peace and a decent amount of free time. He went straight to Derek.

"What do you think, Derek!?" he jubilantly asked his friend as they walked out of the building together. Derek had a frown on his beak, not nearly as thrilled and excited as his friend.

"I think you're doing great, Michael. The factory hasn't done this good before" his answer was quick and emotionless. This didn't get passed Michael.

"Hey, what's wrong?" without warning he did a summersault, making Derek look at him with wide eyes.

"What was that about!?" demanded Derek, ignoring the question he was asked. Michael got up from his summersault and chuckled loudly.

"I don't know. I just felt like doing it. I'm just so HAPPY!!"

"Yeah, I can see that…' remarked Derek crudely.

"Hey, you never answered my question, what's wrong!?"

Derek was silent for a bit as they walked to their cars. He was trying to find the right words to say and how to say them, because he knew it could very well come out wrong. "You just aren't yourself anymore." Michael frowned at this. "It's like I don't know who you are anymore. You---I never see you anymore. You're always working and when I do see you, you're all….Ugh….You act as though you're high or on something because you're so 'happy' and it just scares the crap out of me. "He paused briefly. "I'm not saying this in a bad way, or at least I don't want to, but that's just how it is. I don't know who you are anymore!"

Michael sighed, his good mood gone as he stared out in front of them. He had to admit, his friend had a point. He was so much more confident in himself these days and always doing little cartwheels and flips in the air for no reason. Playing with toys constantly and talking to himself from time to time. He knew that wasn't how he used to act.

Anger then set in. "Well, you know, people change. And yeah, okay, I changed a lot, but you don't have to hold it against me!"

"Hey, no need to get hot under the collar. I totally understand!" fought back Derek weakly, knowing things were going the way he didn't want them to. He didn't want Michael to be angry with him, he just thought he should know how much he's changed due to the factory. Neither of them spoke after that. After this, they rarely spoke and when they did it was very little and usually was at work when Michael needed a file or something. Derek felt awful, knowing that he should have kept his beak shut about the whole thing.

He was just afraid of how different his friend was becoming.

\-----

"Megsy?" mumbled Quackerjack as he slowly opened his eyes. His head was spinning and his body ached for more rest, but he had to know where his Megsy was. It was then that someone touched him on the cheek, caressing it. He looked down at the other end of the couch to see Megavolt sitting there, leaning close to him and smiling.

"You're finally awake!" greeted the rodent. "And bulby here kept saying you wouldn't wake up for another six days!" He chuckled at the idea. Quackerjack blinked and groaned as he tried to get all the sawdust out of his mind. It wasn't working out all that well. He yawned largely and stretched, sitting up. "How long have I been out?"

Megavolt shrugged. "I don't know. I can't even remember sitting down here on the couch to begin with, let alone when you fell asleep on it." He looked at his gloved fingers and played with the sparks that emitted from them. He snapped his fingers and they both looked up when the TV turned on once again.

"I think your TV has a crush on me…" Megavolt scooted closer to Quackerjack at the thought, but looked up at him when he saw that the jester was staring at the TV.

The rodent looked back at it and saw that the same wretched commercial that had started this whole mess was back on. He began pulling on Quackerjack's large shirt, hoping to get him to snap out of it, but it didn't work. He watched in slight horror as Quackerjack's face contorted into absolute fury. "Quacky, ignore it! Ignore it!!" he told his friend instantly and frantically. He knew this would not bode well with is friend, considering the last time it had been watched by the jester.

"I hate Whiffle Boy! It's because of the damn toy that I'm the way I am today!!" shouted Quackerjack in his fury.

Megavolt was silent for a little bit, then squeaked, "Are you sure that's the only reason, Quacky?"

Quackerjack snapped out of his fury and turned his glare away from the TV, now giving Megavolt a look of curiosity, annoyance, and confusion. "Explain yourself, Megsy!"

Megavolt looked away for second. In his fury, Quackerjack sounded a lot like Negaduck, only not nearly as harsh and cruel. "I'm just saying. Is that all that made you how you are? There was nothing else that happened?"

Quackerjack never answered. He stood, retracting his wrist from Megavolt's hand and walking into the bathroom, where he slammed the door shut. Megavolt just watched, still sitting on the couch. He raised the light bulb up to his face. "Yes, bulby, he's still in a bad mood…." He sighed, still watching the bathroom door. He looked at the light bulb incredulously. "What does cheese have to do with anything!?"

\-------------

Things were not going as well as Michael had hoped for the factory. Everything had been going so well, and now everything seemed to be falling to pieces. The Christmas sales were not going as well as predicted, which meant that the factory was losing money. Not a great deal of money; actually a very small amount. But it still affected them, meaning that Michael was forced to lower the prices of the materials they received to make the toys, which meant that the fabrics and plastic would be more cheap and less hardy.

He tried not to let it get to him, especially since business was still booming. It was only a little decrease in their income and sales. Nothing to make a fuss over. But Michael was still worried. He just prayed that things wouldn't get any worse than they already were.

Since he was under more stress, Michael had begun to hum to himself while he worked, and maybe tap his fingers on the desk to get a beat and make the tune more upbeat. Tapping his foot was something else he started.

He rarely spoke to Derek anymore and he hated it. Every time he tried going up and talking to Derek, something seemed to come up to keep them from talking. He was afraid that his friend was getting tired of him. He was under the impression that Derek found him to be more annoying, and he wanted to know what he was doing to make his friend think that.

Standing out on the balcony outside his office, Michael had the sudden urge to do a cartwheel. He didn't know why. He just wanted to. His mind was so focused on all the stress he was going through and he figured a cartwheel would make him feel slightly better.

He looked down at all his workers and seeing that no one was looking, he quickly did one. He landed on his feet, much to his thrill and jumped when he heard a voice behind him. "Wow, doing cartwheels while he works. Only you do something that crazy."

Michael whirled around to see that it was Derek, who had just come up the metal steps. "Oh, Derek, hey. I didn't see you!" he flustered a bit, pulling down his jacket and shirt, which had come up slightly during his cartwheel. He pushed back his long bangs.

"Listen, Mike, I'm sorry. I've been really cold towards you recently and I just wanted to apologize" started Derek. He was about to continue when he sneezed. The sneeze soon became several and they then turned into a clearing of the throat. Michael watched his with concern.

"You okay?"

Derek nodded. "yes. Fine. Sorry, its just I've been having the snuffles lately. You know, sneezing and a bit of coughing" he shrugged it off, but Michael wasn't convinced. "Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." There was silence between the two fo them as they awkwardly stood there next to each.

"I never was mad at you…." began Michael. "I just didn't talk to you because I thought you were upset with me…"

"I was" stated Derek coldly. "But then I remembered who it was I was mad at and…. Well, you wouldn't be the Michael I know if you weren't….odd" he smiled at this. They gave each other a brief hug before clearing their throats and looking away. "So, Quacky, how are things going with the factory?"

"Well, Mr. Banana Brain, things are not going as well as I had hoped for the holiday season…" he looked down at the workers as he said things, his smile disappearing.

"Why? What's making things so bad?" questioned Derek, following his friend's gaze. Michael sighed, looking away.

"Another toy company…" he said this so quietly that Derek almost didn't hear him. He had had to strain his ears to hear him. There was silence between them, in which Derek wasn't sure what to say. He knew his friend and his new company was suffering because of this. It had been ten months since Michael took over and he had grown so attached the company in such a short amount of time. It was part of the reason why they had been so distant. Michael was staring out into space, his expression grim. He then ran a hand through his long red hair. Over the last few months he had been growing it out to the point where it needed to be a tiny ponytail.

Derek cleared his throat, only to wince at the pain it caused. He rubbed at his throat, but his focus was on comforting his friend. "Listen, it happens. Every company has their ups and downs. The only reason the other toy company is doing so well is because they are new and people want to try it out."

Michael shook his head. "No. It's supposed to be the other way around." He finally turned his gaze back to Derek. "It's the new company that's supposed to suffer because they are the new ones. Not the company that has been around for years!"

Derek knew his friend was right, but he didn't want to make things worse by admitting that. The sound of the factory and the conveyor belts were all that could be heard as they stood there in silence.

\-----------

Time continued to go quickly and painfully for Michael, who, despite his earlier depression, tried to make the best out of it. It was mid January, well past the holiday season when he felt in a better mood, mainly because Quackerjack Toys sales were starting to rise again. He didn't miss a beat in taking this opportunity to show his excitement over this success.

He was currently in his room, humming a random tune as he sat on his bed, sewing quickly as he placed two pieces of materials together. Derek was sitting on the chair next to him, facing backwards on it as he leaned against the back, a can of Coo-Coo Cola in his hand. He took a sip of it, having no idea what his odd friend was up to now.

"What are you making?" he had asked several times.

"You'll see!" was the only response he would get.

"I'm surprised your not at the factory, seeing as how its your second home now" this was said with barely hidden bitterness. But Michael didn't seem aware of it. He simply continued to hum happily. Derek shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer. He coughed a bit as he drank a bit more of his Coo-Coo Cola. The cough then became a little more severe and deep. Michael looked up with worry.

"You okay!?" he demanded, partly getting up, but Derek held his hand up to keep him from coming as he recovered.

"I'm fine" he assured his worried friend. "It's just a cough I've had for a while."

Michael continued to look at him suspiciously for a few more minutes before turning back to his work. After another five minutes of silence between the two of the red head worked, Michael finally stood and cried out, "Ta-da!! It's done!!"

Derek looked up at what was being held up skeptically. "What is it?"

Michael didn't waste anytime. He pushed down his ponytail and placed the newly made creation of his head. "It's my new harlequin hat!!" Derek only blinked at it. It was very strange, yet it seemed to match Michael perfectly. Half of it was red and half blue. Little bells that jingled were at the ends on the hat, which curled out slightly from his head. Two bells, one for each end. One on the right, one of the left. Michael bobbed his head up and down happily, giving a little jig. Derek just shook his head, amused. "Quacky."

"Banana Brain!!" spat back Michael with a chuckle. The two friends laughed at their old nicknames for each other. However, Derek's laugh turned into coughs, severe coughs, which made Michael's laugh catch in his throat. "Derek!?" he called out, alarmed. He watched as his friend coughed and hacked for several more minutes, panic taking over. He patted his friend on the back, his new silly hat still on his head. Once Derek was able to control his coughing, he looked up at Michael, smiling. "You look like a crazed toymaker with that hat on…" His voice was slightly weak due to all his coughing a moment ago.

Michael just blinked at him, then smiled, his buck teeth showing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

\------------

Everything seemed to fall apart when the month of February came. Everything unraveled from the neatly constructed, playful world Michael had built over the fourteen months that he worked as owner of the factory. It all happened so fast that Michael had barely had enough time to respond to it. Not to mention the fact that he had no clue as to how to handle the situation he was now in. Derek was suffering from a terrible case of Phenomena. For the last several months he sat had sat by and watched Derek's condition get worse and worse, hoping that it was just his imagination. But it was true and it was happening; fast.

Derek was currently bedridden in his own bed, unable to get out of bed because he was so weak. Instead of being at the factory, like he should have been, he was holding his best friend's weak hand as he sat next to the bed, his entire focus on Derek. He was wearing a sweatshirt and sweats, not even in the mood to get into better clothes. He was only worried about Derek.

"Do you need anything?" asked Michael, his voice trembling. He didn't want to think of what was happening. He couldn't comprehend just how badly his friend's state was in. The doctor had been in to check on him earlier, said that he didn't look good. Any of the medication that he was given was having little to no affect on him. Circles were under the red head's eyes, for he was having lack of sleep. Not only was he having problems with Derek and constantly worried about him, but Mr. J. Meddle and his own toy factory were booming. His toy sales were rising high quickly while Quackerjack Toys slowly crashed into unseen wall of bankruptcy. It was said that he was going to be releasing a new toy in the next few days, one that would, "change the world of toys" he had said in all his advertisements. Michael had just scoffed at the idea when it first came out, but no one else had seemed to share his opinion. Especially not the little kids and their mothers. This is was startled him to no end.

But he had no time to think about that. He had Derek to worry about, on top of everything else. Derek finally replied to his friend's question. "No…I'm alright…" he coughed heavily. "Well, maybe some water…" His voice was so raspy and coarse that it was hard for Michael to understand him. He quickly stood and went out into his friend's kitchen, where he grabbed a glass and filled it with fresh cold water. He returned quickly and helped Derek sit up, holding his head and allowed Derek to drink as he held the glance for him. This was what his friend had been reduced to. This made him feel terrible. Terrible for not having seen the signs earlier, before he was too sick to be helped.

"Derek?"

He received no answer. But he knew Derek was alive, for he was breathing deeply, but he could hear the phlegm that was in his lungs. He tried to lighten the mood. "Hey, now, Mr. Banana Brain…." he was speaking softly. "What's your favorite flavor of milkshake?"

Derek didn't respond at first, but a small smile appear on his beak. Michael wiped at his blonde, matted and sweaty hair as he waited. "Banana. You know that…Quacky…"

Michael grinned largely. "That's right." Then his friend began to talk, and what he said, broke his heart.

"Everything hurts, Quacky." he was taking deep breaths between every sentence.

"I'm so tired…I just want to sleep forever. I want the pain to stop, so that I'm not…..stuck here. I feel hot and cold at the same time….. And its messing with my head…" He turned his face so that he was looked wearily at Michael. "You're a great friend, Michael, you know that? I never….. Could have asked for a better friend. No one liked me… in school, but there you were, you stuck by me. The popular, class clown stuck by my side the entire… time, despite what other people thought… And I thank you for that."

Michael was close to tears, hating the way Derek was talking. He was making it seem as though he wasn't going to be around anymore. As though-- Michael frantically shook his head. He couldn't think of it. He couldn't comprehend what he knew was true. He refused to admit what was happening. The same thing happened with Mr. Losset. He hadn't been able to accept that either.

Michael came out of thoughts and saw that Derek had finally fallen asleep. He didn't wish to leave his friend, but he knew he had to get back to the factory. Things were bad enough there without him helping everyone focus. He gently rubbed Derek's hand for another moment before placing it underneath the many blankets he was under. "I'll be back soon, Banana Brain. I promise. I promise, Derek."

He then stood and went out the door, knowing that if he looked back, he wouldn't be able to leave.

\-----

Michael pushed his way through the doors to the factory, a grim look on his face. He pulled on his brown jacket, having changed from his sweats and sweatshirt. He knew he wouldn't have been able to show up dressed like that. He glanced through the place, seeing that everyone was in a tizzy, all huddled together, talking frantically, knowing that things were not good at all.

This angered him. Well, no wonder things were so bad! Everyone kept standing around talking when they should be working! He glared at everyone as they noticed his arrival. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so furious and upset.

"Why are you all just standing around!? Come on! We have work to do!" he barked out at them. It amazed him; it hadn't even sounded like his voice.

Everyone squeaked and hurried back to their work stations, starting up the machines and conveyor belts. He walked around the factory, looking for anyone who wasn't doing their job. He was in a bad mood to say the least. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to back at Derek's apartment, taking care of him. Not this. He loved the factory and all the toys it made, yes, but he had other things on his mind at the moment. He watched as all of his toy soldiers were made and his Quackypatch dolls. He looked up and saw a banner, one of their advertisements, of a kid hugging a little brown bear that they had sold in the holidays months. Everyone loved his toys, so why were sales going down? Why were they almost to the point of bankruptcy?

Michael was starting to think that he would never get an answer when he was tapped on the shoulder. He looked around and saw a tall older duck woman in a business suit and high heels. She said nothing, only handing him a sealed package which looked like documents were inside. She left without a word. It had his name on it, so it did belong to him. He opened it up with shaking hands. He had no idea what this could be and frankly, he didn't want to know.

Before long, it was open and he pulled out several small posters that were inside. He looked at them carefully, all the color in his feathers draining. The poster was an ad for a new toy. Mr. J. Meddle's new toy which he was boasting about for the last month.

It read:

"Come and help save the universe with Whiffle Boy on his Quest for Justice!

This all new video game will allow you to join the quest with Whiffle Boy and save the universe. With ultra-cool gizmos and gadgets, there will be nothing to stop you!!

All new! The new video game can be found at stores all around!

Get it today!!

\-------------

The advertisement also had a large picture of Whiffle Boy on it with his blast gun as he was about to shoot and kill a monster. Michael just blinked at it. So that was the weird stuffed animal that Mr. Meddle had sent to them. It all made sense now, for it was the same little duck in the odd spacesuit.

Michael couldn't take his eyes off it until he heard all of the machines shut down. He looked up, alarmed as he saw that everyone had stopped working. "Hey!! What's wrong! Get back to work!"

He looked at everyone. Some were ducks, some were rats. Some of them were cats and others were dogs. It was like a small army of them, because in a factory you needed a lot of people. They all wore the same work outfits. They shook their heads, which almost made Michael's heart stop. He stared at them with wide, wild eyes. "We can't, sir" spoke up a voice. He looked over and saw one of his younger workers who was closer to him. "The factory shut down…. All the machines just sort of shut down…"

Michael shook his head, not being able to understand what he was being told. It was then that he heard a loud annoying laugh from behind him. Someone was clapping along with that laugh. Michael spun around, only to see that it was Mr. Meddle himself. The older duck had a smug look on his face. A face filled with pride and accomplishment. "Whatever is the matter, Mr. Bell? Hmmm?" he asked, sarcasm was heavy in his voice. "Did you run out of ideas? Did you lose your factory? Did you wake up this morning and realize…" He was now inches away from Michael, and being several inches taller, seemed slightly intimidating. "That your toys are…..second rate?" He began to circle Michael, who was too stunned to speak. "You and Mr. Losset were both fools when you said no to start a joint company all those months ago with my own company. Losset was too stubborn at the time and you, well, you were his little puppet. You weren't about to go against him. You followed him like a little puppy and hung onto his every word and look at where it got you." he then held up a piece of paper, which Michael snatched and started to read. The air in his lungs seemed to disappear for he suddenly couldn't breath as he read it. Meddle waited a moment or so and then said, knowing already what he was reading, "Bankruptcy."

Michael's persona seemed to deflate as this news sunk in. No wonder the machines had stopped. The power company, S.P.E.C., wasn't about to fund someone who's gone bankrupt.

Suddenly, the doors to the factory burst open and everyone looked up to see a young rat dressed in a rubber suit with blue gloves, a battery on his back, a plug hat, and purple tinted goggles over his eyes look about.

"I am Megavolt! Okay, you guys know the drill…I think. All civilians drop to the floor, I rush in, steal all the money from the vault and then you guys let me out scot free!" ordered the rat, chuckling to himself. Everyone blinked at him, saying nothing. Michael was speechless even before this happened. He raised an eyebrow.

Due to all the silence, Megavolt looked around, scratching underneath his plug hat. "Ummmm…..This is the bank, right?" Everyone shook their head. This made Megavolt blink. "Wha--!? I could have sworn it was!" He mumbled something that no one else could hear. "That's the last time I take directions from a parking meter!!!" He then stormed off, leaving everyone baffled.

Michael sighed and looked back down at the piece of paper in front of him. "As I was saying" came Meddle's voice. "My company, my Whiffle Boy toys, have finally put you out of business and there's nothing you can do about it…" He chuckled with glee and walked away.

Michael didn't know what to do with himself. He watched as everyone got their things and left, a few people coming up to him to give him a few words of encouragements and acknowledgements, but he didn't pay attention to any of them. It was then that he could faintly hear the phone ringing in the background. Someone picked it up and answered it. He didn't know who gave it to him, for he was too lost in his own thoughts, but he heard the voice say, "It's for you, sir" and suddenly he had a phone in his hand. He brought it up to his ear and listened. "Hello?"

"Hello. Mr. Bell? This is Dr. Walker. I am afraid to announce that your friend, Mr. Derek Weber, has passed away. I came in to check on him and he was not breathing. He died of phenomena. I am terribly sorry…."

Michael dropped the phone, which landed with a loud clang on the floor.

\------------------

Megavolt wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there on the floor, leaning against the door of the bathroom, but he knew one thing: he'd been there a long time. His stomach was starting to make noises, and if he remembering correctly, that meant he was hungry. He didn't get hungry very often. At least, he didn't think he did.

He drummed his gloved fingers on his knees, which were drawn up close to his chest. He would hum a song, but he didn't know any to hum, so that was out of the question. He sighed, bored as ever. His friend, the light bulb, was currently not speaking to him. It was being stubborn, as usual, and it was always Megavolt's job to clean up the mess. Well, not this time. Therefore, he sat in silence, refusing to be the first one to speak up.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of water running rapidly. He blinked and before he had time to react, he felt the sharp pain on his rear of being shorted out. Megavolt yelped, his eyes wide as he jumped up and stood, rubbing his bottom and looking at the door cautiously. He was amazed to see water coming out from underneath the door. Panic filled him as he realized who was on the other side of the door. He grabbed for the doorknob, turning it quickly back and forth, only to find out that it was open as he stumbled in, more of his precious electricity escaping his body as he walked in, water all over the floor.

There, on the other side of the small bathroom, sat Quackerjack. He was curled up, his knees drawn in close to his chest as his arms wrapped around them. He was sitting in the middle of the bathtub, which was overflowing with water, the faucet still pouring out water on high. His legs were dangling out from the side of the tub. He was still fully clothed, obviously not caring if his outfit got soaked. He wasn't looking up, and from Megavolt could tell, wasn't even aware of his presence. His head was very low and his harlequin hat hid the sides of his face, so it was really just his large beak that could be seen.

Megavolt heard very soft sniffling noises coming from him, allowing him to know that he was possibly crying. Megavolt wasn't sure how to respond to this. He had never seen the jester this way before. It was almost as though it wasn't Quackerjack at all, just some person dressed up as him. But he knew it was Quackerjack, and it broke his heart a little to see his closest friend acting this way.

"Q-Quacky….?" whispered Megavolt, unsure. If only he hadn't been in a fight with Bulby, his trusty light bulb friend he's been hanging out with this whole time. He would know what to do. But he was still safely outside the bathroom.

Quackerjack jumped a bit at the small voice, looking up. He blinked at Megavolt as though he had never seen him before. After another moment of staring however, Quackerjack seemed to come to his senses. "Oh, Megsy…" he sighed. He looked about himself curiously, as though he had no idea why he was soaked and water was surrounding him and the bathtub was overflowing.

"Quackerjack! What's going on here!?" demanded Megavolt. He took a step closer to the jester.

Quackerjack shrugged. " I don't know. I don't remember turning the water on…"

"Why are you in the bathtub to begin with!?"

"I'm not sure…"

Megavolt blinked, leaning back a bit as he stared at his friend. "Wow, you sound like me on Sunday mornings."

Quackerjack groaned, ignoring that last comment as he undid his hands around his knees and plopped them into the water, making two small splashes. He sighed deeply, looking away and towards the still running faucet. He raised a lazy arm and hand and turned it off. Silence filled the bathroom. "I don't know who I am anymore, Megsy…"

"Oh, so that's the problem…." concluded Megavolt with a shrug. He took off his battery, plug hat, and the plug and wiring on his chest and hip, placing them safely on the bathroom counter. He walked up to the tub, startling the jester, and pushed him aside, scooting him over towards the wall so that there was room for him to sit in the tub. With a splash, he was sitting in the water, next to his favorite friend.

"Megsy, you'll short out" pointed out Quackerjack.

"I already did. Besides, I could use a bath…." He turned red at this, and shook his head. He then turned his attention back to his troubled friend. "What's wrong again?"

Quackerjack looked away. "I don't know who I am anymore…" he mumbled.

Megavolt clicked his tongue and sat back a little, now in the same position as Quackerjack. "Well, let's see….." he wracked his brain for an answer. "Okay, you are Quackerjack, once the owner of a shoe factory--"

"Toy factory" corrected Quackerjack forlornly.

"Right! Toy factory! You are a member of the Fearsome Five, which has…

well…. Sort of died due to….um….too many social interactions between the group to the point where Negaduck kicked as out. Anyways!! You go around happily and jovially stealing toys only to replace them with your own creations, cause you want kids to buy your toys. You have three stray cats which you feed, which you named, Banana, Tootles, and Flo--"

"I have four cats and those aren't their names…"

"So picky on details!!" hissed Megavolt, looking up at the ceiling. He played with his fingers after taking off his glove and tossing it to the floor as he thought some more. "You make toy teeth so that you can throw them at people and giggle with glee. Your doll was haunted by Paddywhack without your knowledge until it was too late. You usually are the one who helps me remember what day of the week it is. You own and are the creator of the Time Top. You like bananas and you like toys. Yes, that's obvious, I know. You--"

"Just stop!" snarled Quackerjack. Megavolt gave him a hurt expression as he was cut off from his speech. "None of what you said has made me feel any better! I hate who I am! I wasn't always like this! It never occurred to me before of how much I've changed over the years, how, insane I've become. And now I stop and look at myself and it sickens me!!"

Megavolt frowned, unimpressed. His temper was starting to wake up. His left eye twitched a bit. ""Why suddenly does it bother you now, though!? That's what I don't understand. Why has this suddenly become an issue!?"

Quackerjack seemed to deflate as he sunk further into the water, making more spill out. "Because reality has come and slapped me in the face. Hard."

"It's because of Whiffle Boy isn't it? That's why you went insane in the first place. He….he put you out of business, right?" It amazed the rodent to no end that he remembered that so well.

"Not only that…." Quackerjack whispered. "He died."

"Who died?"

"Derek."

"Derek who?"

"My best friend."

"I didn't die! I'm right here!"

"Not you!"

"But you said you're best friend. That's me, right?" There was silence for a little bit. "R-Right?" He sounded so desperate when he asked that, it made the jester feel bad for not answering sooner.

"Yes…..of course you are. But Derek was my friend from high school and college. He was my best friend way before I met you." he began reluctantly. He really didn't want to get into this, but maybe this was what he needed to do to make himself feel better. "He died. Died of phenomena. That same day, I lost my factory. All thanks to that damn Whiffle Boy!"

"Wait! Whiffle Boy killed Derek!?" poor Megavolt asked, trying to grip onto the story, but missing important parts due to his frazzled mind. Quackerjack, anger boiling in his veins, took his arm and shoved Megavolt hard in the side, which made him be pushed over, where his other arm forcibly hit the faucet. Megavolt shouted out in pain, having not seen that coming. Quackerjack didn't show any remorse for what he just did as he glared at the rodent. "No! You idiot!" he snarled. Megavolt flinched, pulling away from Quackerjack. He had never seen the duck act this way before. This wasn't Quackerjack, he soon realized. This was Quackerjack after he'd finally been pushed over the edge. Insanity could really do dangerous things to a person, it seemed. "Whiffle Boy killed Michael!!" The jester stood up at this, his clothes dripping wet as he glared down at Megavolt. Megavolt blinked, almost too afraid to ask. Almost. "Who's Michael?"

"Me! I'm Michael! Did you honestly think that Quackerjack was my real name!? No, you ass! It isn't! I started calling myself that after I lost the factory! Because that was the name! The name Mr. Losset wanted it to be called! Quackerjack Toys!! Quackerjack is just an alias! He doesn't actually exist!! He's just a name, a persona I used to hide my pain! It took me ten years, but I finally have realized that!!!" He then stormed out of the bathtub. He wild and furious eyes landed on Megavolt's battery and plug hat. He grabbed them, which made Megavolt shout in protest, and hurled them at the rodent, who used his arms as a shield for his face.

The battery landed in the water, causing a heap of electricity to flow out of it and zap the rodent. Now fried and crisped, Megavolt coughed out a puff of smoke, then looked up to see what the furious jester was doing now. He heard crashes and bangs. Shattering glass. He quickly got out of the bathroom, slipping and falling several times due to all the water. When he reached the outside of the bathroom and into the large warehouse room, he saw absolute chaos. Quackerjack was now on the other side of the room, a giant toy hammer in his hands as he took and it was aimlessly destroying anything near him. Toys, tables, chairs, anything.

Rage. Absolute rage was what Quackerjack was currently feeling. He was also feeling some heartache and pain. Nothing could take away the pain away. Not even the feeling of destroying everything he saw. Stupid toy teeth! They snapped in half as he hit them with the hammer. Stupid teddy bears with hidden guns in them. The guns snapped as the stuffing squeezed out. Stupid sawhorse that he would rock back and forth on and would breath out fire. He took the hammer and whacked the head off.

He then stopped and saw that in front of him was a mirror. The make-up mirror that Megavolt had been making for him before this all began. The mirror was surrounded by little light bulbs, which were currently turned off. He stared at his deranged reflection, seeing himself wearing a jester outfit. Baggy, purple pants. Big puffy, orange and red sleeves. Big harlequin hat. The same one he had made when he had been with Derek.

Quackerjack tightened his hands around his hammer and raised it high. As he did this, Megavolt finally caught up with him, his eyes going wide as he saw what his friend was doing. "Quacky! Don't! Oh, all those poor defenseless light bulbs!!" he squeaked. He scrambled over to his friend in an attempt to stop him, but he was too far away and Quackerjack had already started smashing the light bulb.

Megavolt watched in horror as his precious luminaries were shattered into pieces by Quackerjack's rage and anger. The little pieces of glass rained down in the table below the mirror, forming into a small little pile. Once all of the light bulbs were broken, Quackerjack grabbed at the table and tossed the whole table and mirror over, where it collapsed on the ground.

Quackerjack was about to move on when his eyes caught the familiar glow of sparks. He turned around and saw a very furious and pissed off Megavolt. "How could you!?"

Quackerjack already knew what he was referring to, but he decided to play dumb, his anger still in control. He rested the hammer on his shoulder. "What's your problem?"

"You destroyed my precious luminaries!!!" he hollered.

"Oh, boo-hoo!" snarled Quackerjack sarcastically.

Megavolt ran up to the mangled mess that was once the mirror and started cradling the broken pieces of glass and light bulbs pieces in his hands. Quackerjack just stared at him, unsure of what to do. He watched as Megavolt mumbled sweet condolences to the pieces. After what seemed like ages, Megavolt finally stood, not seeming as angry. "I'll forgive you this one time, Quacky. Because I know you're hurting. Listen, I just want you to know that I'm here for you, Quacky…."

Quackerjack listened, calming down a bit. He nodded and dropped the hammer. Megavolt walked up to him, and just when he was about to give him a hug, Quackerjack pushed him hard to the floor, where Megavolt fell with a thud.

"You know nothing!" he cried out. "I'm out of here!!"

Megavolt blinked. "W-Where are you going!?"

"Out to get revenge!!" The big iron doors to the front of the lair opened up and shut quickly, leaving Megavolt to himself. His head spun. He didn't know what to do. This was one awful mess. He was going to have to have a talk with the TV about what commercials he was allowed to show from now on.

\-----------


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I finally did! Go me! Anyways, I am very sorry if there is any typos, but its late and I just want to post this and go to bed! Enjoy!!

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Important! This chapter contains some spoilers from my previous fic, Electrifying Memories. So if you haven't read that fic yet, you might be a bit confused about what goes on between Drake (Darkwing) and Elmo (Megavolt). I try my best to recap in this chapter, but you have been warned! Enjoy!

\--------------

Drake Mallard wasn't sure how he was feeling at the exact moment. His head was pounding, yet for whatever reason, he was in a good mood for someone with a headache. He was currently in the kitchen, trying to clean up the mess that Gosalyn had made earlier while had been with Honker. Drake figured that Gosalyn had gotten in her head once more that she could be a chef. And although she was good, she made the largest of the messes afterwards. She left bowls filled with left over ingredients on the counter, silverware with leftover food on them, condiment containers left opened and anything she didn't use she didn't put away.

Sighing, Drake finished up the cleaning by putting the ketchup bottle away when the door bell rang. He looked up in thought, wondering if Gosalyn would get it. He then remembered that Gosalyn was over at Honker's house and Launchpad was off and about somewhere.

Wiping his hands off with a towel, which he tossed aside a moment later, he went to the front door and opened it up. "May I help y--" Drake froze on the spot, his eyes wide.

Standing there, looking from side and side, nervous, stood Elmo Sputterspark.

Wringing his hands together, the rat looked like a nervous wreck. He looked up at the door when Drake opened it, his crazed blue eyes looking expectant. Once he saw it was Drake at the door, who was stunned out of radical thought, he looked down at the ground, trying to remember what he was going to say.

"Hi." He mentally winced, knowing that sounded stupid, but it was all he could manage. He felt so strange being there. Exposed. He wasn't used to being out of his Megavolt clothes. And without his battery, he felt completely useless.

"E-Elmo?" stuttered Drake as he stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

Elmo nodded, swatting away a bee that flew by his ear. Drake took one look at him and could tell his friend was anxious. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, I knew a moment ago…..and then I lost it. And then I remembered again, and then just as you spoke, I lost it again…" he looked away, finding interest in the grass.

Drake took in a breath, trying to figure out what was the best way to handle this. "Okay, well, why don't you come in, you can have a glass of water, and I'll help you remember" offered Drake, twisting the doorknob with his hand that had never left it and opened the door, leading Elmo inside. Elmo walked in, memories of the last time he had been here flooding his mind. He was wearing the same outfit too. Blue jeans and a black shirt.

"Hasn't been that long, has it?" he asked, touching the stair railing. Drake shut the door and was beside him in a heartbeat.

"No…Not really. About a month or so I'd say…" guessed Drake, just trying to keep Elmo talking. He knew what Elmo was talking about. Or at least, he assumed he did. It was about a month ago that Megavolt had been in an accident, where he lost his memory and could only remember up until just before his senior prom. He had been taken to a hospital, where Drake had found him since he had been on the accident scene as Darkwing. Quackerjack had been the one who helped Elmo remember that he was Megavolt by kidnapping him from Drake's very house. Now the two of them were mutual friends. Since Elmo could remember both parts of his life now, in which being best friends with Drake, he felt guilty about being Megavolt, but not enough to stop. So the two of them had awkwardly agreed to be friends, but only as Drake and Elmo. As Darkwing and Megavolt, they were enemies. It was strange and unsettling for them both, but it would have to do.

Drake left Elmo in the living room to quickly get some water for him and when he came back, he found Elmo fiddling and touching the light bulb in his lamp in front of the front window. "This light bulb seems happy…" he said quietly without looking up. "He says you keep him turned off most of the time…"

Drake scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how to respond. "Uhh…well, yeah. I….That's my goal…hehe….keep the light bulbs happy…" he looked away, his hand still behind his head.

Elmo didn't say anything to this, he just set the lamp shade down properly and turned around.

"Remember yet?" ventured Drake, hoping to make some progress.

"Umm…" Elmo wracked his brain, trying to piece together the frazzled pieces. "I think it has something to do with trouble…"

Drake perked up at the mention of trouble, interested, his cautious, Darkwing behavior kicking in. "Trouble? What trouble!? Where?" he moved in front of Elmo, who's hands where on the sides of his head. "Elmo, come on, you have to give me more than that!"

"Quacky…" whispered Elmo. Drake almost didn't hear him as he cocked his head to one side. "Quackerjack….Quackerjack!" cried out Elmo, taking his hands down and looking at Drake wildly.

Drake took a few steps back. "Yeah? What about him?" he asked skeptically. He Didn't like where this was going. Anything that had to do with Quackerjack usually wasn't good. Especially when the two of them were together. They could made a crazy, dangerous, duo.

"He's gone insane!" cried out Elmo.

Drake just blinked at him with a frown on his face. His hands on his hips, he sighed. "Yeah, um…Elmo? He's been insane for a while now. But um….thanks for the update.."

Elmo just looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. He rubbed at his arms as he looked at the floor, his bare arms cold. He looked for the right words to say. "No.. He's more insane than ever! He's….He's upset! Practically deranged!" He looked back to the front door, then slowly turned back and in a whisper said, "Darkwing needs to stop him….He's out of control. I can't even stop him! And he sometimes listens to me! I….came to you because….I knew you would help. Maybe the only person who CAN help….And I know things might be funny between us, that's why I came as Edwin" 

"Elmo" corrected Drake.

"Right. But will you help me!?" demanded Elmo, looking at his friend desperately.

Drake took this news with wide eyes. This was not what he was expecting. As he waited for an answer, Elmo rested a hand on his chin and thought hard. "Now…something tells me I'm forgetting something very important…"

Off in the distance, even from inside the house, the two friends were able to hear a large explosion that came from the direction of downtown St. Canard. They both looked up, their eyes wide as they looked at each other. "Yeah, that's what it was…" sighed Elmo. "He took off into town, planning on 'getting revenge'" quoted the rat.

Drake, now fully alarmed and thinking like Darkwing, looked out the front window, where he could see a large smoke stack going up into the air in the direction the explosion came from. Elmo stepped into his line of sight, making Drake blink at him, coming back to reality. "Oh!"

"Please, Drake. You have to help me! Quackerjack might be a pest to you but he's important to me! I can't lose him! He's lost it! He's hurting…" Elmo explained, trying to convince his friend to help him. Drake sighed, pulling down on his vest in frustration and deep thought. This was tough. It wasn't his intentions to help a villain, but by the looks of it, Quackerjack really was making a mess in town. He took in a deep breath. And he couldn't stand to see Elmo looking so distressed.

It was so odd. When he saw Elmo standing there like he was now, he almost completely forgot that he was Megavolt. Almost. Grimacing, Drake nodded. "Alright, I'll help you. But only because I know how much it means to you…" Elmo beamed at his words. "Now…..let's get dangerous…." sneered Drake, his eyes narrowing as he headed towards the blue chairs. He stopped and looked back at Elmo, who was just staring at him blankly. He smacked his forehead with his palm as he remembered once again who it was he was dealing with. Elmo knew his secret identity, sure, but he didn't know how to get to his hideout. Which was going to be an issue. Well, he supposed Megavolt would just have to know yet another one of his secrets. He just prayed the villain would be decent enough to keep it. Or at least forget it.

He grabbed Elmo by the wrist and dragged him into the second blue chair. Elmo, confused, watched as Drake hit the head on the mouse detective statue between them and gave out a yelp as they were suddenly whizzed away.

\------------------

Elmo waited silently as Drake got changed. He was looking about the Tower, knowing that he wasn't allowed to touch anything, let alone move from his spot. He had to admit, the place was impressive.

Darkwing appeared a moment later, fully dressed and ready to go. "Ready?" he asked.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Why not!?" demanded Darkwing.

Elmo looked at him as though the answer was obvious. "You changed into Darkwing….now I must change into…Megavolt…" he grinned wickedly at these words, knowing that soon he would have his wonderful battery on again and the wonderful flow of electricity running through him. Darkwing nodded, having a feeling this was going to be a long night.

\------

The citizens of St. Canard were greatly alarmed when they had heard the explosion that had taken place at the downtown toy store. The store was now in shambles, burning out of control. Some who stayed long enough were able to run and scream when they saw the presence of Megavolt step onto the scene.

Megavolt watched as they ran away screaming, tilting his head to one side. "Funny, I didn't even do anything this time…"

A hand grabbed his wrist as he was pulled along by Darkwing, who was walking closer to the burning toy store. A fire truck and some fire fighters were currently trying to get rid of the fire. They shouted orders at each other as their hoses were trying to get the fire out. Darkwing ignored them. He wasn't used to being at the end of a crime scene. He was used to being there before the fire fighters or such came along.

"Stay focused, Megavolt!" hissed Darkwing to the rodent. Megavolt nodded. It had been utterly awkward for Darkwing to have Elmo inside his lair, knowing that he was exposing his secrets to one of his greatest enemies. But this great enemy just happened to be his ex best friend who desperately needed his help. So his better nature took over and obliged, knowing the information of his lair was hopefully going to be forgotten by the rodent. "Now, we know he was here, but do you have any idea as to where Quackerjack may have gone next!?"

Megavolt wracked his brain, trying to think of a place that Quackerjack might ambush. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Toy stores and toy factories, obviously, but the main question was, which one? They couldn't go to all of them at once and going to the place Quackerjack had already hit made sense, for they might be able to find some clues.

Scratching underneath his plug hat, Megavolt sighed, defeated as he was unable to think of anything. "I don't know, to be honest. It happened so fast. At first I thought he was going to calm down, then he pushed me away and ran off!"

Darkwing nodded, having heard this earlier when they were at Megavolt's Lighthouse. After being at the Tower, they had had to stop at the lighthouse so that Elmo could change into Megavolt.

It was then that they both heard it. That distinct, hysterical laughter that both of them knew so well. Both of them immediately looked up at the top of the buildings on the opposite side of the street from the burning toy store. They were unable to see the crazy jester, but they both knew he was close if they could hear his laugh.

"Come on! We're just gonna have to go look for him!" shouted Darkwing as he started running in the direction of the laugh, his cape billowing behind him. Megavolt didn't need to be told twice and followed in hot pursuit.

\-----

Inconsolable.

Inconsolable pain.

Nothing made it go away. So many tears. So many tears had fallen and yet he still had more to shed. Nothing he did could make the unbearable pain go away. Condolences of every kind had been given to him, but nothing made him feel the tiniest bit better. Time seemed to pass by so quickly, almost cruelly.

Michael sat there in the corner of his room, curled up into a ball, his head in his hands. He shivered. Trembled. But nothing helped. He whimpered and cried out his pain and though his family had stopped in to see him, they didn't help. If anything they had things worse.

"You know, maybe you just weren't ready for such responsibility. Not like your brother. Now he would have been ready. Did you know that he got a scholarship for college?" his mother had said to him. Typical. Instead of trying to help him sort out the pain, his own mother brought him down worse and bragged about her other son.

The media hadn't given him any rest either. At the news that the famous Quackerjack Toy factory was to be closed, the media went wild, knowing that they would be able to grab a juicy story from it all. It sickened Michael to no end that they were actually making money off of his sorrows in a way. It didn't go past them that his best friend had died as well.

The day after Derek's death, Derek's mother and father had come to visit him and give him a few parting words. They had said that if he'd needed anything all he had to do was call, but he didn't. Nothing they could do could help him.

Then there was the very fact that he had lost the factory….

He had dreamed so much to have his own factory and his wish had come true! But it didn't last very long. But it sure was a ride! But now that it was over and gone, Michael didn't know what to do with himself anymore. Usually he would have gone to Derek to seek advise, but he was now stripped of his best friend as well!

He had loved so much to see the kids walk out of factory, hugging the little stuffed bear or QuackyPatch doll they had gotten as their mothers walked them out of the store. It had made Michael so happy to see it, to know that he had been making a kid out there happy and making their day. But he wasn't able to do that anymore. And again, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Michael sat there in his corner, as he had been for the last week, crying, not knowing what to do. Devastation plagued him. His room was littered with all of the remaining toys that had been left at the factory. His room was overflowing with them. Mr. Meddle had not even so much have given him a chance to sell the rest of his toys and having no place else to take them, they had to be taken to his house, where his parents dumped everything in his room. He couldn't even see his floor.

But above everything else, the one thing that truly hurt him was the stone cold fact that Derek was dead. He still had trouble believing it.

"Derek….how could you…!? How could you leave me, you fool!" whispered Michael harshly as he desperately wiped away his tears. It was useless. They just continued to roll down his large beak. "No…You're not a fool, Derek…..I am. I don't even know what I'm going to do anymore…" he sniffled. "I lost everything like the bat of eye. All thanks to that bastard….Meddle….Oooh, He ruined everything!" he began to tremble more violently. "Him and his damn toys….Whiddle Dud or whatever the hell it is he named it…" He sniffed some more.

It was starting to get dark outside and the sun was setting, making it darker inside Michael's toy littered room. "He thinks he's so special, doesn't he Derek?" sneered Michael a little bit louder. He wiped at his eyes again and stood, kicking away some of the toys on the floor in front of him. He made his way over to the sewing machine had in his room. "I have a new toy idea, Derek, would you like to hear it?"

He was speaking to no one. Only to himself. No one else was in the room save himself. Then, in a higher voice he responded to his own question. "Why yes, Michael! I would love to hear it!" He smiled at the high voice's response. He was still trembling, tears still falling down his cheeks and beak. He gasped in and out for breath, hitched and uneven as it was. He rolled up the sleeves of his blue long sleeved shirt , pushed aside his long red bangs and began his work.

"I think you need a new name Derek…..It just….brings back too many sad memories, you know?" he spoke in his normal voice as he looked through a bunch of material, picking out certain colors.

The higher voice spoke quickly after in response. "Oh, that's fine. Though shouldn't you think of new name for yourself first, Kurt?"

Michael suddenly wailed out his agony, unable to keep back a sudden sob. Several moments later he recovered and set back to work, replying, "I suppose….you're right….Mr. Banana Brain."

"Is that my new name? You're not very smart, Bart" chided the higher voice.

"Who asked you!?" hissed Michael. There was silence for the next hour or so as Michael worked through his tears. It took him a lot of hard work and frustration and he had to take several pauses in his work to keep back the sobs, but he finally finished.

"It's about time, Kline!" squeaked the higher voice at the completion of the little stuffed animal. It actually wasn't an animal, but a fruit. A banana. With a face, hands, legs, feet, and a little outfit.

"Shut up!" whined Michael.

"You still haven't thought of a name for yourself, Michael…" pointed out Mr. Banana Brain.

Michael smiled as he held the doll close to his chest, his eyes filled with tears, sleep, and exhaustion. "What are you talking about? A new name…. I never had an old name to begin with…..Because my name has always been and always will be… Quackerjack…." He then threw back his head and laughed hysterically until he passed out several minutes later in his chair.

\-------

"Hehehehehehe!! Hahahahahaha! Whoever said 'revenge is sweet' was damn sure right!!! Hahahahaha!!" laughed Quackerjack as he hopped from one rooftop to the other. Giddy wasn't a strong enough word to describe how he was feeling. He bounced up and down, knowing that the full terror of his work was just starting.

He had already burned one toy store and had every intention of doing the same thing to all the other in St. Canard as well. He rubbed his hands together, snickering as he looked down at his next target. It was the mother of all idiotic toy factories. The one that started all of his pain. The original Whiffle Boy toy factory. He wondered if Mr. Meddle was still alive and kicking, working at his stupid factory.

He jumped at the idea, hoping he was. He knew that seeing his old 'friend' would just make his day. He had no idea why he hadn't thought of this sooner. It really didn't make any sense as to why he hadn't.

Oh well, it didn't matter. More important things to worry about. Like how should he go inside and make his entrance. His options were truly unlimited!! He cackled with glee and set off to work.

\---------

The sound feet hitting cement and the their heavy breathing was all to be heard as the unlikely ran all across St. Canard, trying the best they could to find Quackerjack.

Megavolt stopped, Darkwing running off ahead of him. He leaned over, placing his hands on his knees as he wheezed, trying to catch his breath. He ran a lot, but he wasn't used to this much running. It didn't help that he was carrying a very heavy battery on his back and no amount of years of practice carrying it could help him get used to it.

"Drake! Stop!" he shouted out, immediately berating himself for saying the wrong name. he wasn't Drake right now, he was Darkwing. It had slipped.

Darkwing did stop, an annoyed look on his beak as he started walking back to his friend. Darkwing was also panting and out of breath, but not as much as Megavolt. He glared down at his friend. "I told you not to call me that while we're out here! What!? You want every villain to know who I am!?" "I…I-I'm sorry…" muttered Megavolt as he straightened, stuttering due to his lack of breath. They regarded each other briefly before Darkwing turned back in the direction they had been headed.

"Are you sure you have no idea as to where he could have gone?" he asked for the millionth time that night. Megavolt shrugged. He couldn't remember the last time Darkwing had asked him and therefore didn't realize how many times he had been asked that.

"All I know is that he pissed off at Whiffle Boy. So he could be anywhere that sells the toys…" he began, wracking his brain once more for any clue. "You know…." Darkwing turned to him, waiting. "It never really occurred to me, but wouldn't Quacky want to hunt down the person who even created Whiffle Boy? You know, as part of his whole revenge thing?"

Darkwing stared at him in disbelief. His mouth opened just a bit. "Of course!! Oh, why didn't I think of that before!? Of course that is where Quackerjack would go! It makes perfect sense! He's out to get the ultimate revenge on Whiffle Boy, so why not go after his creator!?" Darkwing smacked himself in the head for having not thought of it earlier.

Megavolt smiled, proud that he had been able to think of something. Darkwing snapped his fingers. "Oh! What's his name!? I should know this from when I was involved with the Whiffle Boy tournament! The creator of Whiffle Boy is….." Darkwing went silent as he searched his memories, trying to recall the name. "J. Meddle!" he abruptly cried. "That's it! J. Meddle! He's the one who made Whiffle Boy!" Megavolt just waited for more to be said. "If we find Meddle, hopefully we'll find Quackerjack! And the only reasonable place Meddle would be at a time like this is at his factory! That is, if he still works there! If not, we then have two people to find!" Darkwing then started running. Megavolt watched him go. "I hate running…" he grumbled and followed quickly.

\------

All the lights were turned off as an elderly rat, far past his young years walked out of his bathroom in his large mansion. Despite his old age, he had managed to keep going, not letting old age wear him down. He was dressed in a red bathrobe, a matching towel in his hands as he patted the very little hair on his head dry. He didn't bother turning on the light, and hummed a tune as he walked, his red slippers sweeping against the floor.

He set down the towel on his dresser, a mirror in front of him, his bed behind him. He looked up in the mirror and saw his room. He grinned, knowing his life's work had paid off. He looked down and moved over the towel, getting a bottle of aftershave and opening it up. He put some on his hand and looked back up, about to slap some on, when he gasped in fright at the shadow behind him in the mirror.

"What the--!!" he cried out in his deep elderly voice. Before he could turn around, a white feathery hand silenced him by covering his mouth.

"Hello, Mr. Meddle…..It's Plaaayyyyytiiiiiime!!!!"

Mr. Meddle's eyes widened with fear.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The night air began to pick up as the two shadows ran as quickly as they could across the rooftops of the city. The sun had long since set and the stores now closed. No one was in the streets and therefore the two shadows didn't have nearly as much hiding to worry about.

Darkwing came to an abrupt stop, which made his unlikely partner nearly topple over him. Megavolt squeaked as he ran into Darkwing, tangling his right hand into the other's long purple cape. "Hey!" grumbled Megavolt in his nasally voice.

Darkwing grunted in annoyance, looking back at his former friend with a frown. He pushed Megavolt off him, which made the rodent stagger a moment as he regained his balance. Once he did, he looked at Darkwing in question. "What?"

Darkwing swallowed his annoyance and anger, reminding himself why he was here and who he was doing this for. He knew that Quackerjack meant a lot to Megavolt and seeing as how Megavolt was his friend…when they were Drake and Elmo, he wasn't about to back down now.

"I stopped because we are getting close. Now are you sure this is where he would be going?" demanded Darkwing. He hated wasted time on cases.

Megavolt sighed, rolled his eyes and crossing his arms. "You honestly expect me, an insane electrical rodent, to understand an insane toymaker?" Silence ensued, while Darkwing just stood there, a ways in front of him as the question sunk in for the rodent. "Yeah…..okay…."

"Look, Megs, you're the closest person to Quackerjack. You have the best chance of understanding why he would do something!" Megavolt nodded at this. "Now, again, are you sure this is where he would be going!?"

Megavolt shrugged. "More than likely! Once Quackerjack gets an idea, there really is no stopping him until he goes and does it…" He closed his eyes an sighed. "I learned that the hard way…" he cringed at a memory and looked away, rubbing his arms. Darkwing gave him a disgusted look, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Okay….Well, we're coming close to the Whiffle Boy Toy Factory. Now, the factory was built beside the Meddle Mansion. Meddle is the creator of Whiffle Boy. He bought out the toy factory down the road from his house years ago. He invested great amount of money into it and added onto it once he started making his money from Whiffle Boy. He then tore down his house and built his current home, Meddle Mansion. If I'm not mistaken, he should be alive and should still be living there." He paused a moment, changing his expression into a more relaxed one, thinking of what it would be like to live there. "I mean, really, who wouldn't want to live there…?"

"Me. So many light bulbs in a place like that. I'd go mad just thinking about em' 'all …." replied Megavolt blankly, staring off into space.

Darkwing sagged a little in his posture, knowing that talking to Megavolt was like talking to a dog at times. Obviously his brain was on a different channel than everyone else's. He shook his head, hitting Megavolt on the arm in an attempt to bring him back to reality. "Megavolt! The point is, that is where we need to go!" Megavolt nodded.

Darkwing turned back around, looking off into the distance. They were on the far end of town, on the northern side, and if Darkwing squinted and looked hard enough, he would be able to see Meddle Mansion far off in the distance.

He was about to usher Megavolt to follow him when he heard his partner sigh. He looked back to see Megavolt looking sullen. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" snarled Megavolt, which caught the caped defender off guard. Darkwing just blinked at him as Megavolt pushed past him, getting ready to jump across to the next building.

"Elmo, what it is?" asked, Darkwing. This made Megavolt stop. He grunted and turned around, a sour expression of his face. "I'm just worried about Quacky is all!" he hissed. Darkwing didn't push the subject any further. Darkwing knew that, as odd as it may have been, Megavolt and Quackerjack cared a great deal about each other. A little too much, in his opinion, but they did nonetheless.

Without another word, the two of them once again headed towards Meddle Mansion.

\-----------------

There was hardly any light in the room, save for the little coming from the bathroom that connected to Meddle's bedroom. It was night outside, which didn't make the situation any less scary for Meddle. He gulped in fear, the sweaty, feathery hand clamped tightly over his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he was able to see the end of Quackerjack's large harlequin hat, a little bell at the end. It wasn't jingling.

He looked straight ahead, his large mirror in front of him, being able to see the sadistic yet somehow childish grin on the jester's beak. "Now, now, Mr. Meddle. No need to be scared…" Meddle ignored him and continued to tremble. His old aching body was not meant for this kind of stress and pressure. He gripped anxiously at the sleeves of his deep red robe that he was wearing. He didn't like this at all. Who was this person!?

"Now…" began Quackerjack evenly. His voice sounded slightly different from his normal eccentric voice. This time it was lower and held more venom and cruelty in it. He snaked a hand around Meddle's neck, moving his hand away from his mouth, fiddling with the collar of his robe. This made Meddle all the more anxious. His temples began to sweat as he desperately wondered what the crazy jester was going to do. "You may or may not know who I am…"

"Y-You're that crazed toymaker! Q-Quackerjack!" stuttered Meddle, looking through at the mirror and watching Quackerjack through it.

Quackerjack beamed at this, a large grin forming on his beak. Meddle found this grin to be terrifying, seeing as how it was in the dark, and the jester's arm was around his neck, and had one of his wrists in his other hand. It didn't help that in the darkness, Quackerjack's large and wild eyes seemed all the more creepy. It was then that Quackerjack's deep breathes hitched a bit, making Meddle wonder what was about to happen. The jester loosened his grip on Meddle ever so slightly, pushing himself back a ways, his hand still holding on tightly to Meddle's wrist.

Quackerjack pulled out Mr. Banana Brain, , holding him close by bringing him up to his face and rubbing his right cheek against the doll. "The time has finally come Mr. Banana Brain…." he sniffed, large fake tears coming to his eyes. Meddle blinked at this, looking at the mirror and trying to figure out what was going on.

"W-What are you--!? Who are you calling Banana Brain!?" demanded Meddle. His outburst came out of nowhere and he immediately regretted it, for Quackerjack snapped his attention back to Meddle, placing Banana Brain down, still in his hand, but away from his face.

"I'm calling Mr. Banana Brain….Mr. Banana Brain!!!" cried out Quackerjack. His voice made it seem as though the answer had been obvious and simple. Silence ensued, in which Meddle tried to comprehend what he was just told. "Golly! And to think you put me out of business! You're so dumb, however did you pull it off?" snickered Quackerjack.

Meddle furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about!? I didn't put you out of business!" Quackerjack's grip on his wrist increased, making Meddle wince. But he kept going. "I put that wretched Michael Bell out of business! Stupid kid who replaced Losset after he died and started coming up with these stupid toys!"

Quackerjack didn't say anything at first. He ignored the fact that his toys had once again been called stupid for the time being. This had caught him off guard. It appeared that Meddle didn't know who he really was. Quackerjack snickered. 'This could be fun!' he thought gleefully.

"Really!? And whatever happened to that young boy, I wonder?" questioned Quackerjack, a grin plastered on his face.

Meddle shrugged the best way he could considering the situation. "I don't know. I think he committed suicide…" mumbled Meddle half heartedly. It was obvious he didn't care what had really happened. Anger then set in, and the old canine began to remember just who this crazy jester was dealing with. "You do realize that with the simple press of a button, twenty police officers will be hear at my doorstep to arrest you for this!" he barked out angrily at Quackerjack. More silence followed, in which Meddle watched Quackerjack carefully through the mirror, analyzing his reaction to this news.

Quackerjack lowered his head, giving out a defeated sigh. "You know, that really is too bad. I was hoping that you and I could sit down and have some tea…."

"Tea!? Wha-!" cried out Meddle in shock, but Quackerjack didn't let him finish as he pressed on.

"But seeing as how you are being so rude and impolite, I'm afraid we're just going to have to skip tea…" Quackerjack pressed himself closer to Meddle, his hand now squeezing the old canine's wrist so hard, Meddle thought it was about to snap as he moaned in pain. "Well, I have some news for you….." He paused, brought his large beak up close to Meddle's right ear, then continued. "Michael Bell did not kill himself…."

Meddle opened his eyes from his wincing. "What?"

"He is 'dead' in a sense…..but he didn't kill himself…." Quackerjack finally let go of Meddle's hand, who quickly gasped and brought his hand up to look at it and rub it. He then looked up at Quackerjack, who had circled around him, watching him like a hawk. "He was murdered…."

"Listen here!" shouted out Meddle, backing up until he was up against the end of his bed. "I have no idea why this has anything to do with me! None of what you are talking about pertains to me!!"

Quackerjack swept his left hand out over the dresser, his large colorful sleeve hitting everything on it, making everything come crashing to the floor in a large mess.

"Yes it does!!!" he screamed, now furious. "I am the way I am now because of you! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be like this!" At these last words he swept both hands over himself in the air, referring to himself, his attire, his outfit, his personality. "If it wasn't for you, I would never have become who I am now! I would still be living the good life at my factory!"

"Your factory?" breathed Meddle.

"Yes! My factory! Haven't you figured it out yet, you simple-minded idiot!? I'm Michael Bell!" his voice was filled with emotion as he said all this, his face encased with anger and fury. Meddle's eyes widened at this revelation.

"You!? You're--!!"

"Yes, you idiot! Do you think its just some coincidence that shortly after you put me out a business, a lunatic in a jester costume, calling himself Quackerjack, just starts parading down the streets of St. Canard robbing toy stores!? NO!!!"

"I---I--" Meddle was at a loss for words. He stared at the furious figure before him, his mind still trying to grasp the fact that this was the same 21 year old who had lost his business thanks to his Whiffle Boy ideas. "Look…..I'm…" he looked about himself, as though trying to find the right thing to say. "I'm….sorry…"

Quackerjack threw his head back and let out his infamous, insane laugh. He laughed so hard that he had to wrap his arms around his stomach in an attempt to control himself. He stomped his one foot down in another effort to stop. Meddle meanwhile, took this advantage to look out the window, seeing how late it was. His eyes then landed on the phone was near Quackerjack's left elbow. He knew it was a long shot, but he knew that he just had to get to a phone. As Quackerjack continued to laugh, he began to slowly inch closer and closer to the phone. Just as he was about to reach for it, Quackerjack's hand shot out so quick that Meddle cried out when the jester caught his wrist. Meddle tensed, not hearing the insane laughing anymore, and looked up at see Quackerjack glaring at him with venom in his eyes.

"'Sorry?' 'Sorry'? Is that seriously all you can say after what you did to me!?" demanded the jester.

Meddle refrained himself from saying 'sorry' again, which, at the moment, was all his mind could think of. He looked around, then realized just how close to the phone he still was. With his left hand in Quackerjack's grip, he knew reaching with his right wasn't the best move, seeing as how awkward of a position he would be in, but he knew he had to try. He tried reaching for the phone, and his fingertips touched it and he tried pulling it closer to him. Just when he thought he would be able to grab it, the phone fell sideways and slipped to the floor. The entire time, Quackerjack had just watched, bemused.

"Hmmm….Looks like you won't be getting any help from the police tonight…" he grinned sadistically. Meddle recoiled, knowing that this was it. Quackerjack pulled out something from one of his large pockets. Meddle blinked when he saw that it was a teddy bear. The teddy bear looked evil and sinister, making Meddle gulp. Quackerjack squeezed the teddy bear, murmuring something to it. "Come on, Mr. Teddy. I need to borrow your knife for a little bit, okay?"

Meddle's breathing quickened when he heard the word 'knife'. He tried pulling away but his elderly body wouldn't let him, plus, Quackerjack's grip was too tight. The teddy bear opened up its stomach and revealed a knife inside, which Quackerjack quickly took and threw the bear aimlessly on the bed. With the knife in his hand and the bathroom light behind him, Meddle thought that Quackerjack looked like the devil himself. His large harlequin hat giving him all the more effect.

"Now, Mr. Meddle…..I am going to do what I should have done long ago….You ruined my life…so I'm gonna ruin yours…." he hissed in a deadly whisper, inching closer to him. He raised the knife up, then brought it done to Meddle's wrists, where he took the knife and pierced a fine cut into it. Meddle grunted and winced, trying to pull away. He then began to kick and struggle all the more but to no effect. Blood began to seep out of the then long cut, bunching up, then slowly spilling out around his wrist.

Quackerjack went to raise the knife again, only farther up the arm, pushing away the robe sleeve when the sound of hissing air stopped him. Both of them looked over towards the bedroom doorway to see a large puff of purple smoke blocking the light from outside.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night…." began the booming voice. Quackerjack pulled away a bit, lowering the knife and rolling his eyes, his grip still tight on Meddle's wrist.

"I am the power surge that turns out the lights…." came another nasally voice. Quackerjack tensed up at the new voice as he looked to the door, knowing who's it was.

The smoke began to clear and they were both able to see a caped figure standing in the doorway. Beside the figure, still hidden by the smoke, was another taller figure.

"I am Darkwiiiiiiiiiing Duck!" cried out Darkwing, bringing down his cape and revealing himself.

"And I…….am Megavolt!" finished the electrical rodent, now within sight. His plug hat sparkled with blue electricity. Megavolt came out of his pose and looked at Darkwing. "Huh, now I see why you do that all the time. It's actually sort of fun!"

Darkwing turned to look at him, a smile on his beak. "You see!?" Megavolt nodded.

Meddle sighed with relief, knowing that he was going to be saved while Quackerjack groaned. "Megsy!!" he whined. "What are you doing!?" He stomped his foot down. "Did you forget who Darkwing is again! He's the hero! We don't play with heroes! Remember!?"

Megavolt gave him a pained look, knowing the jester was right. "I'm sorry, Quacky. But this time, you've gone too far!"

"Yes! Exactly!" butted in Darkwing. He quickly brought out his gas gun, ready to shoot. "Now, just release Mr. Meddle Quackerjack and we'll talk this out."

"Talk this out!? There is nothing to talk out, Dorkwip!" pouted Quackerjack, standing up straighter and looking back at him. He pulled Meddle close to him, and wrung his arm around Meddle's neck.

"Darkwing---help!" choked Meddle, his eyes wide with shock.

Darkwing took a step closer, in which Quackerjack's grip became tighter. Seeing this, Darkwing backed off unwillingly. Megavolt tried taking a step forward and when Quackerjack didn't tighten his grip, slowly took several more. "Quacky…It's just me…Megavolt…"

"Duh, silly! I know that" quipped the jester. The rodent continued to step closer and closer until he was several feet away. He looked down at Meddle, who was looking up at him with pleading eyes. Over the years, he had grown used to seeing expressions like that from those who got in their way. Every super villain grew used to it, it was just something that came with the job. Little sympathy was ever shown from Megavolt when he ran into a store clerk or pedestrian that got in his way, and this time was no different. But he knew that Quackerjack was hurting, and killing this man wasn't going to make Quackerjack's pain go away. So he knew that he had to stop him before he regretted his decision.

"Quacky….just let him go…." sighed Megavolt.

This made Quackerjack's eyes widen. "What!?"

Megavolt repeated himself. "Just let him go and we'll go home. I'll make you your favorite kind of toast. I promise…"

Quackerjack titled his head affectionately, looking at Megavolt almost lovingly, but then he frowned. "No, Megsy, I have to do this.."

Megavolt looked down at the ground, then over at Darkwing, who motioned for him to keep it up. He took in a deep breath and continued. "No you don't….You don't have to…." He paused, thinking hard. From across the room, Darkwing sighed, knowing his friend's poor memory was not helping them out at the moment. Megavolt looked at Meddle. "You don't have to kill him…"

"Yes, I do! Megsy! You of all people should know that!" cried out the jester.

"How would I know that!? You haven't told me anything!"

"Oh, this is coming from the guy who can't remembering his last name!" shot back Quackerjack.

Megavolt sneered at him. "I can to! It's Sizzlespark! Now let that man go!" he shouted back, pointing at Meddle. Quackerjack rolled his eyes as Megavolt got his name wrong, knowing that this argument could last a while.

"Look, Megsy, you have no ideas how much pain I've gone through because of this idiot!" cried out Quackerjack, his voice getting higher and more emotional with each word.

"How would I!? You never would tell me! I've been trying to help you this entire time, but you pushed me aside!" Quackerjack looked over at the door and saw Darkwing standing there, waiting for something to happen. "So you went and got Darkwing!? You went and pulled him into this!?"

Megavolt sighed, knowing that looked bad, seeing as how he was a villain, but Darkwing had been his only chance to find Quackerjack. " I had no choice! He was the only way I would have been able to find you!" fought back Megavolt. He sighed once again. "Look, we can argue all we want, but its not going to help things! Now just let him go!"

Quackerjack stepped back a few steps, bringing Meddle with him. Meddle saw his chance and stepped hard on Quackerjack's foot, who cried out in pain and let him go in the process. Meddle quickly pulled away, falling to the ground, clutching his chest as he did so, trying to catch his breath. He was too old for this!

Darkwing rushed over and pushed his way passed Megavolt and Quackerjack, who was nursing his foot like a little kid and hopping up and down on one foot as he looked at it.

"Are you alright, sir?" asked Darkwing to Meddle. He helped Meddle sit up properly and waited for him to catch his breath. Meddle nodded as he tried to stop the bleeding of his wrist with his robe.

"Yes, yes, thank you. Just---" he pointed at Quackerjack. "Just keep him away from me!" Darkwing nodded, looking back at Quackerjack and standing in front of Meddle to protect him.

Quackerjack put down his foot and looked up, pouting. "You all play unfair!" he wailed. "It's because of him I'm the way I am! I never used to be like this!" Everyone waited for him to continue. "I mean…sure, I was always the oddball who made weird toys and liked to dissect bugs, but never like this!"

Megavolt moved closer to him, but Quackerjack only stepped back. Before anyone could do anything, Quackerjack jumped up, did a summersault in the air, and landed behind a now standing Meddle. Darkwing had no chance to react and before he could, Quackerjack had wrapped an arm around Meddle's neck and pushed himself back against the wall, the window beside him. Megavolt moved up next to Darkwing at this.

"No one move! If they do, this guy is a goner!" threatened Quackerjack, and it was clear that the jester was no longer playing around. He inched his way around Darkwing and Megavolt, who, sadly, couldn't do anything and were forced to just watch him. However, just as Quackerjack was moving past Megavolt, the rodent saw his chance and grabbed Quackerjack by the shoulders. The jester squeaked in shock and cried out when the shock of electricity went through him. A moment later, Megavolt let him go and Quackerjack's grip slipped off Meddle as he slid to the floor in defeat. He fell to his knees, his outfit now completely devoid of color. He was smoking ever so slightly.

"Megsy…I thought you were on my side…" he whimpered.

Megavolt took a quick look at Darkwing and Meddle, who were quickly exiting the room, leaving them alone as the caped hero got Meddle to safety. He then turned his full attention of his best friend.

He knelt down and sat next to Quackerjack, sitting close and leaning up close to his face. "I am on your side….That's why I did that…"

Quackerjack just gave him a confused look. "What?"

Megavolt thought for a moment, trying to find the best way to put what he wanted to say into words. "Look…I know he ruined your life, but think of it this way… Had it not been for him, you would never have met me…"

Quackerjack was silent as this sunk in, then he slowly nodded, realizing this was true. He looked up at Megavolt. "That's true…"

Megavolt nodded encouragingly. "Yeah. Had it not been for him, you and I never would be friends….playmates….whatever we are…" he laughed. Quackerjack smiled, leaning up against Megavolt. "Remember when I lost my memory a while back. I don't…but I know you do. You kept telling me, electricity and toys, a dangerous duo. That's who we are!"

Quackerjack's grin grew larger. "You remember when we first met?"

Megavolt didn't answer at first. "……..No……."

Quackerjack giggled. "I do. We met in a candy store.."

"What was I doing in a candy store?"

"I don't know. But that's where we met.."

"How many light bulbs were in that store? If you tell me that, maybe then I'll remember…" asked Megavolt.

Quackerjack sighed, exasperated. "How should I know!?"

"Oh, well, they usually tell you…"

"Who tells you!?" demanded Quackerjack, getting frustrated and confused.

Megavolt looked offended as he crossed his arms. "The light bulbs of course!" He shook his head, acting as though he had asked what two times two was.

Quackerjack gently grabbed Megavolt's arms and undid them across his chest. He set them down on Megavolt's side, who was letting him do as he pleased. He let go of Megavolt's arms and took a feathery finger and traced lines on Megavolt's chest. "You really are silly, Megsy…"

"Yeah, well, you're just plain Quacky…." retorted Megavolt weakly. He was busy enjoying Quackerjack's attention.

Quackerjack sighed at this and looked away, his hand falling from Megavolt's chest. He leaned back, away from the rodent, who now looked worried. "What?"

"You remind me so much of Derek…." whispered Quackerjack. Up until recently, I never allowed myself to think about him. Brought back too much pain…"

Megavolt grabbed his hand. "Then don't think about him….I'm not saying you should forget about him, just….don't let what happened in the past get to you…"

"Wow, Megsy…..this is an awfully serious moment for you. You're not gonna get all mushy on me, are you?" he playfully hit Megavolt on the arm.

"Not unless you cheer up!" retorted the rodent, hitting back. There was a pause, where Quackerjack frowned and looked sullen again. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened. But you're with me now. We found each other and that's all that matters. Electricity and toys. A dangerous duo. Now let's not let all this get in the way of what we have." Megavolt jumped up onto his feet, startling Quackerjack. "Now come on! I have light bulbs to save and you have toys to create!"

Quackerjack grinned wildly and jumped up as well, the bells on his hat jingling once again. The two of them hugged. "Now come on. Before Darky gets back!" whispered Megavolt. He saw that Quackerjack was still looking sullen. Half on the window sill, he leaned over to the jester's ear and said, "Look, if you still want him dead, I know where the boss keeps his "To Kill" list. We'll just sneak it on the end of his list and he'll eventually make his way down to him. That way, everyone's happy…" He paused and the two of them looked at each other. Megavolt shrugged. "You know how much Negs loves to kill random people!" Quackerjack nodded eagerly and the two headed for the window.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Author's Note: Just a little ending chapter for this story, seeing as how the last chapter ended things sort of quickly. I wanted to wrap this story up a little bit more than I had.

Enjoy!

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The dark figure moved closer and closer to Quackerjack, who had been running down the long hallway for what seemed like forever. Everything around him seemed to blend together, nothing making any sense. Shapes and shadows surrounded him and he couldn't put things together to make a coherent thought. All he knew was that he had run.

Run for his playful, childish life. A loud thunderous noise could be heard, never ending.

Quackerjack panted for the air that his lungs begged for, wishing he could stop running but at the same time, knowing he couldn't. The bells at the end of his hat jingled loudly, adding to the thunder-like noise and making his eardrums hurt. Fear gripped his heart, frightening him to no end. He just wanted it to end, all end!

"I can make it end…." spoke a chilling, haunting voice. The voice sent shivers of fear down the jester's back. "I can make it end, little clown. Come now. Stop running….and I'll make it end." Quackerjack abruptly stopped, nearly running into a wall that had appeared out of nowhere. Everything seemed to be in shades of purples and grays. Chilling. The shadow he'd been hiding from leered forward, advancing since he was now trapped. The hallway had ended and now Quackerjack had no where else to go. "I'll be back…" the creepy voice informed him.

Quackerjack blinked. Everything, even the dark shadow itself, which had been growing along with advancing, seemed to fade out, mixing together with the walls and floor and ceiling, all mixing together into one big mess.

Quackerjack closed his eyes tightly, moaning ever so, wishing it would just end. He tried pushing the grey and purple mess away, feeling the shadow try and grab at him as it mixed together around him. Pushing, shoving, kicking. Anything to get it away.

"Stop kicking…." mumbled a new voice. Quackerjack looked about, unsure of where this new voice came from. It wasn't the shadow's voice. But he knew that if he stopped kicking and thrashing about, everything would get him. Everything.

WHUMP!

Quackerjack groaned as he landed on his stomach, his chin hitting hard of the poorly carpeted floor. He shook his head, his mind getting more clear by the moment. The grey purple shapes of the hallway were fading from his mind as reality fell into place. He blinked, starting to get up. His head spun, making him dizzy.

He looked up, seeing that he was lying on the floor beside his bed, where he could just barely seeing Megavolt's sleeping form still on the bed, facing away from him. His soft snores could be heard. Funny, they had sounded so much louder in his dream.

At this notion, Quackerjack realized it had all been a dream. He panted, still terrified of the dream. That voice still chilled him to the bone. He shivered, moaning a bit.

"How much do you…..want…..for the refrigerator…..?" mumbled Megavolt from up on the bed. This made Quackerjack look up. He pushed aside his long red bangs, which were in his eyes since he currently didn't have on his infamous jester hat. All he wore were his boxers, which had like teddy bears on them.

Quackerjack finally stood up, stretching as he gathered up his clothes from the drawers. Last night's events came flooding back in a whirlwind of chaos.

The media had gone and written story after story about what had taken place at Meddle's Mansion. Of course, none of what they wrote was entirely accurate. But Meddle found this to be a great opportunity to use the publicity he received to sell more of his toys. Sales did not sky rocket due to his near death experience, much to his disappointment, but it was publicity nonetheless and he was not about to be discouraged by it.

Darkwing received the credit for saving him, any and all indication of Megavolt helping him having been scribbled out. Megavolt was not even mentioned in the articles written, despite the fact that had it not been for him, Meddle would be dead.

Quackerjack didn't mind this in the least. He never did care about what the media wrote about him when it came to his crimes. He flat out ignored the media and newspapers and what they had to say about him. He was just tickled that Whiffle Boy sales didn't go up, as Meddle had hoped.

From that moment on, Meddle insisted that he always be accompanied by some sort of a bodyguard, knowing fully well that Quackerjack could possibly come and try again at any time. Again, this made the jester amused to know of how much he frightened him.

Quackerjack got all his clothes out, but figured it would be pointless to change yet. He wasn't about to go anywhere without Megavolt, who was still fast asleep.

Mr. Banana Brain sat at the top of his pillow, while Megavolt slept deeply beside him, his back still facing the jester. Quackerjack gently got onto the bed and titled his head and smiled fondly at the rodent. The night before he had been fully prepared to kill Meddle, but it was as thought a cloud had been lifted. Now he didn't really care what happened to Meddle. Sure, they had snuck into Negaduck's office later on last night and added his name to his "To Kill" list, but Quackerjack still didn't quite care. He didn't know exactly why. Maybe it was because of what Megavolt said. Had it not been for Meddle and him losing his factory, he wouldn't have met Megavolt. At least, not like he knew him now.

Grinning widely, Quackerjack knelt down and whispered into Megavolt's ear. "Wakey wakey!!" he chimed out.

Megavolt jumped a bit at this, his crazed eyes opening slowly. "Hmmm….wha--?" he groaned, trying to comprehend what was happening. He rolled over, his eyes fixing on Quackerjack's grinning face as the jester sat up above him.

"Hiya, Megsy!" he greeted. He took a feathered hand and played with Megavolt's tuft of red hair on his head. "Sleep well?"

Megavolt didn't reply, just rolled back around and shrugged the best way he could. "How about you?" Quackerjack shuddered at the memory of his dream. "Oooooh, Not good, Megsy! I had a nightmare!!"

"Hmmm…..Really? What about?"

"I don't want to think about it!" cried out the jester, pulling on his red hair like he would his hat.

"Okay."

"Oh! It was just awful Megsy! I was running….everything was dark and scary. And I was being chased by this terrible….Oooh, such a terrible shadow! It's voice sent shivers down my spine!"

"Blame it on the tax collectors. They do that to you…."

"Megsy! I'm being serious!" shouted Quackerjack in annoyance.

They both froze. Megavolt turned around, seemingly more awake now. He sat up, a concerned look on your face. "Quacky?" He placed a furry hand on the duck's forehead. "Are you okay? You have me worried…"

A large tear appeared at the corner of Quackerjack's left eye as he pouted. "I think I'll live…" Megavolt rolled his eyes, knowing the jester wasn't really anywhere near crying. As given, Quackerjack quickly did a summersault of the bed, proving the rodent's point.

But the jester didn't sway far from the bed, in fact he bounced back over to it, placing his knees on the floor, his elbows on the bed, and his chin resting in his hands, watching Megavolt tenderly.

Megavolt sat up and stretched, now more awake. Quackerjack grinned widely at this, hopping up on the bed. Megavolt regarded his jester friend for a moment. "Are you feeling better?"

Quackerjack looked away, knowing what the rodent meant. "Yes, I do."

"You have all that murder and revenge talk about out your mind?" questioned Megavolt further.

Quackerjack pouted as he reached down on the floor and picked up his jester shirt. "I suppose…" he sighed dramatically.

"Don't be a little kid about it" growled Megavolt, annoyed by the way Quackerjack was answering him. "I'm serious. I saved your tail feathers from committing one of the worst crimes…"

"But I AM a little kid, Megsy!!!" insisted Quackerjack as he pulled his jester shirt over his head and large beak. "Besides, you've killed, haven't you!?"

Megavolt tensed up a bit at this. "I have not" he said stiffly.

Quackerjack didn't buy it. "I'll bet you have, you cad! You just can't remember!"

"Don't accuse the innocent!" snapped Megavolt, looking away in a huff. He couldn't meet Quackerjack's wild eyes.

Quackerjack cackled at this, narrowing his eyes at Megavolt. "Please, Megs, we are both FAR from innocent…" He then threw his head back and laughed some more.

Megavolt looked at him, unable to hide a grin and a soft chuckle to escape. As Quackerjack continued to laugh, they both gathered their clothes and changed from the pajamas. Snapping on his goggles, Megavolt looked down at himself, everything but his battery on. Quackerjack was now fully dressed as well, playing with Mr. Banana Brain and a paddle ball.

"But really, Megs, tell me. I know you have. I've seen on the news were you've been suggested to kill someone before. I know you remember. I don't care how bad of memory you have, that is something that would stick with you.." pestered the jester, refusing to let the subject drop. He knew he was right. He has seen Megavolt and his rages; the rodent could get darn right violent when pushed enough.

Megavolt, still sitting on his side of the bed while Quackerjack stood opposite of him, crossed his arms, once again looking away. "I don't want to talk about it…"

"You lecture me like a grade school teacher about murder, yet you have done it yourself! That's just not playing fair Megsy!!" whined Quackerjack, pulling down on his hat.

Megavolt growled a bit at this statement, his temper starting to flare. "All the more reason for you to listen to me!!" he snapped. Quackerjack flinched at his tone, rarely having heard it aimed at him. Usually he heard Megavolt use that angry, infuriated tone with Darkwing or at one of his unsuccessful experiments. But never at him, save maybe once or twice when he was playing too loudly around him as he worked. Megavolt took a moment to calm himself, yet when he next spoke, there was still evident anger in his nasally voice. "Alright, so I have killed. I didn't mean to. They were in my way. You know how I get when I'm anxious and in the middle of one of my plots to save my light bulbs. I just don't know what comes over me, but….I was trying to save some small lights in the jewelry store. The owner refused to let me get to them. So….I zapped them. Hard. I'll zap you every now and then, but not nearly enough to really hurt you. Just a shock." He paused, looking for Quackerjack's reaction to all this. The jester was uncharacteristically still, watching him intently. Megavolt decided to move on. "But I didn't end there. I was so angry at the clerk that to satisfy my fury, I took out a small knife and threw it down, where it landed in the middle of their back."

Quackerjack gasped at this, his eyes wide with astonishment and terror. He held his hands up to his beak like a little child would after hearing a scary story. "I only stabbed the one person afterwards…."

Quackerjack furrowed his brow, the ends of this hat mimicking his head movements. "You mean to say that you've killed more than once?"

"Yeah…The other two times were very similar cases. Only I just zapped them. Electrocuted them to death. At first it was nothing. I would just go back to my business, eventually being stopped by Dorkwing. But later, the guilt would set in. I'm lucky. I have a bad memory, so half the time I can't even remember my guilt, let alone what I did. But when I do remember, its horrible. I've gotten used to it, but the guilt is so overwhelming, it just….well, makes you go insane…"

"What's past insane? Cause you're already there" wondered Quackerjack, trying to move past the sad tale.

"I don't know" shrugged Megavolt. "But you get my point, I'm sure." The jester nodded. He moved closer to Megavolt until he was sitting next to the rodent, wrapping his arms around the rodent's waist.

"Thank you, Megsy" cooed Quackerjack. Megavolt didn't say anything, just relaxed against Quackerjack's touch.

"So what was this nightmare about again?" asked Megavolt, changing the subject entirely. Megavolt felt his friend shiver violently.

"Ooooh, it was scary, Megsy. I'm not really sure what it was. But to be honest, I'm almost positive I've heard that scary voice before…" He shivered once again, looking about the darkened room. There wasn't all that much light in the room, but it was far from dark. He looked about, noticing the shadows in the room. He gasped, jumping up a bit in his fright, holding onto Megavolt's arm tighter and tighter and making the other villain wince in pain. Quackerjack's eyes widen.

"What is it!?" demanded Megavolt. He wanted to know why his arm was being torn off.

"It was him!" gasped Quackerjack. He then hid his face in Megavolt's chest, curling up close to his favorite playmate. Megavolt placed his hands on Quackerjack's back, a look of confusion of his face.

"I don't understand. Who are we talking about now?"

Quackerjack took in a shaky breath, shivering. "Ooh, Megsy. You and I weren't as close back then as we are now…" he gulped. "….when it happened…."

"When what happened?" demanded Megavolt. He hated being out of the loop. He just waited and watched Quackerjack, who was still hiding in his chest, as he waited for an answer.

The scared jester pulled out his favorite toy from the pocket of his purple clown pants. He looked at it and gave it a hug, before sitting up slightly and showing it to Megavolt. "A while back….Mr. Banana Brain got possessed…"

"Possessed?"

"Yes…by a monster….he called himself…." the jester gulped, afraid to even say the name. "P-Paddywhack…"

"Paddywhack?" repeated Megavolt, completely lost. He felt the jester nod.

"Yes. Oh, it was horrible. He hid himself in the shadow of Mr. Banana Brain, giving him the ability to control him." He clutched his doll tightly. "He fed off the misery of others….At first I thought it was just Mr. Banana Brian having coming to life. But then I realized it was Paddywhack. I tried to reason with him, but he then locked me up inside a jack-in-the-box, which ended up being a portal or something into his own world. A world where everything was miserable." Quackerjack sat up straight, looking Megavolt straight in the face, his face inches form Megavolt's. "He made me wear a BUSINESS SUIT!!!!"

Megavolt just blinked at him.

"I was so miserable there, Megsy. But thankfully, Darkwing Duck ended up being there and the two of us managed to work together, stop him, and get out of there…" concluded Quackerjack.

"You and Darkwing worked together? And you yell at me when I do!" sniffed Megavolt.

Quackerjack growled in annoyance. "Oh hush up, Megsy! At least I wasn't playing sleep-over with him!"

"I didn't know where else to go!" retorted the rodent.

Quackerjack shrugged. "Its doesn't matter now. We're together now and that's all that matters. The dream was scary, but I have you now. Besides, he's gone…I'll never have to think about him again.." whispered Quackerjack, laying down in Megavolt's lap. Megavolt smiled, leaning back into the pillows behind him and relaxing as Quackerjack's head rested on his stomach, the rest of him stretched out on the bed.

They were quiet for several minutes. "You're tummy's making noises…" said Quackerjack childishly.

Megavolt shrugged. "Oh, well." The two of them laid there for a while, grateful of each other. However, neither of them noticed that a small shadow in the corner of the room shifted slightly, disappearing; a faint, chilling laugh coming from it.


End file.
